Comparative analyses of the vascular flora of the Pčinja river gorges in Serbia and Macedonia

Abstract

The study’s aim is the comparative chorologic and ecological analysis of the vascular flora of the two gorges of the Pčinja River in Serbia and Macedonia which are 27 km apart. In the two gorges 1564 taxa have been recorded, 1057 being in the upper gorge in Serbia and 1174 in the lower gorge in Macedonia. Common to both gorges are 666 taxa. Chorological spectra show that in both gorges the most abundant are Mediterranean-submediterranean plants, 32.85% being in the upper and 43.97% in the lower gorge. Differences in the studied vegetation result from a diverse participation of other floristic elements such as Central European ones that are more abundant in the upper gorge (17.05%) than in the lower gorge (10.86 %). The life-form spectrum reveals that the flora in both gorges is hemicryptophyte-therophyte in character. Both gorges belong to an enclave of a Mediterranean-submediterranean region, i.e. to its submediterranean Macedonian- Thracian province.

Keywords

• Vascular flora
• floristic elements
• life-forms
• gorges
• Pčinja River
• Serbia
• Macedonia