Jems
The installation of two weather stations has been completed in the Otok and Gunja Forest Districts as part of the Strengthening Climate Change Resilience Measures for the Protection and Preservation of Ecosystems in the Cross-Border Area – RETFOR project. The stations have now been officially handed over, marking an important step towards systematic monitoring of meteorological and environmental parameters and a better understanding of climate change impacts on lowland forest ecosystems.
The stations are equipped with modern instruments that enable continuous monitoring of air temperature and relative humidity, precipitation, air temperature five centimetres above ground, and soil temperature and relative humidity at depths of 10, 30 and 80 centimetres. The stations will be connected to the Climate Change Monitoring Centre, where the collected data will be stored, processed and analysed. This will enable the early identification of extreme weather events, such as prolonged droughts and high temperatures, while providing forestry and water management experts with a reliable basis for timely, data-driven decision-making and nature protection measures on both sides of the border.
The Spačva–Bosut Basin is home to one of Europe’s largest continuous complexes of lowland pedunculate oak forests. However, extreme weather events, including the devastating storms of summer 2023 and prolonged droughts, have seriously affected the stability and functioning of this sensitive ecosystem.
The new weather stations address the previous lack of joint infrastructure for monitoring and analysing climate change in the cross-border area. Their data will also serve as an important input for the Joint Action Plan being developed by project partners from Croatia and Serbia, helping ensure the long-term protection and preservation of this exceptional natural heritage.
