The Republika Srpska Government made a decision today to declare Pančić spruce as a species of republican importance in order to enjoy a special status and management method.
The plan managing a species of republican importance is adopted by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction and Ecology, at the proposal of the Republika Srpska Institute protecting cultural, historical and natural heritage.
The expert basis for declaring Pančić spruce as a species of republican importance was developed by the Republic Institute in cooperation with the Faculty of Forestry of the Banja Luka University, the Government Public Relations Bureau announced.
The reasons for declaring Pančić spruce a species of republican importance are defined on the basis of expertise.
The natural distribution range of Pančić spruce is in the eastern part of Republika Srpska, whose existence has been registered in 26 sites distributed on the territory of the municipalities of Milići, Srebrenica, Han Pijesak, Rogatica, Višegrad, Čajniče and Foča.
Pančić spruce is an endemic of the Balkan Peninsula and a Tertiary relic. The “living fossil” species’ evolutionary age is estimated at 20,000,000 years.
Serbian botanist Josif Pančić discovered it 150 years ago /1875/ and phytopaleontologically it represents one of the oldest woody species in Europe, which is the latest described species of conifer in Europe.
Pančić spruce is a tertiary relic and an endemic species of conifer from the pine family, of the spruce genus, which grows naturally in a limited area, mainly on limestone, less often on serpentine substrates, where the trees reach a diameter of up to 50 centimeters, a height of up to 40 meters and an age of more than 200 years.
Source: srna.rs
