The aim of this research is to determine the change in the spatial distribution of erosion intensity in the territory of the Jablanica River Basin in the period 1971–2016 caused by land use and demographic changes. The Erosion Potential Method (EPM) was used to quantify changes in erosion intensity and to estimate the total annual sediment yield. The research results show that the value of the erosion coefficient decreased from 0.432 in 1971 to 0.360 in 2016. Specific annual gross erosion in the Jablanica River Basin was 654.41 m³/km²/year in 1971, while in 2016 it was 472.03 m³/km²/year. The analysis of proportional changes was used to determine demographic changes and land use patterns in the basin area. In terms of the scale and intensity of the erosion process, three types and one sub-type of population dynamics of settlements and land use changes were distinguished, respectively: progressive, stagnant, regressive and dominant regressive. It was concluded that the results show the significance of demographic and land use changes in the control of the intensity of erosion. The Soil Erosion Map may be useful to planners and land use managers to take appropriate decisions for soil conservation in the basin.

The use of weather satellite recordings has been growing rapidly over the last three decades. Determining the patterns between meteorological and topographical features is an important scientific job. Cloud cover analysis and properties can be of the utmost significance for potential cloud seeding. Here, the analysis of the cloud properties was conducted by means of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite recordings. The resolution of used data was 1 km² within the period of 30 years (1989–2019). This research showed moderate changing of cloudiness in the territory of Serbia with a high cloudiness in February, followed by cloudiness in January and November. For the past three decades, May has been the month with the highest cloudiness. The regions in the east and south-west, and particularly in the west, have a high absolute cloudiness, which is connected with the high elevation of the country. By means of long term monitoring, the whole territory of Serbia was analyzed for the first time, in terms of cloudiness. Apart from the statistical and numerical results obtained, this research showed a connection between relief and clouds, especially in the winter season. Linear regression MK (Mann-Kendall test) has proven this theory right, connecting high elevation sides with high absolute cloudiness through the year.

This study focuses on the possible impact of forest fires on the destruction of forests in Serbia. The variability of forest fires in NUTS 3 regions in Serbia was investigated. By analyzing the data for the period from 2009 to 2018, it can be concluded that there were pronounced oscillations in the number of forest fires and the size of the burned forest areas. It was determined that during the observed period, the maximum number of fires was recorded in 2012, and the minimum in 2014. The largest burned forest areas were 7,460 ha in 2012 and 2,036 ha in 2011, which is correlated with high air temperatures and lack of precipitation. The damage caused in the forest fire, expressed in m3 for the felled wood mass is the highest in 2012 and the lowest in 2010. The greatest threat to forest fires were in Raska oblast (Uzice) and Zlatiborska oblast (Kraljevo), and the lowest were in Severnobanatska oblast (Kikinda), Zapadnobacka oblast (Sombor), and Srednjobanatska oblast (Zrenjanin). The correlation of forest fire occurrence dynamics and humidity conditions were observed on the basis of statistical indicators of the number of forest fires and the values of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The number of forest fires, depending on the influence of humidity conditions is the highest in the dry season.

This paper analyzes water quality from four hydrological stations in the Nišava river basin from 2009–2018 based on the following parameters: pH, conductivity, O ₂ saturation, BOD ₅ , suspended solids, total oxidized nitrogen, phosphates, turbidity and coliform bacteria. Authors have applied WQI (water quality index) as the most reliable indicator of the watercourses pollution for setting of surface water flow quality. Statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) using t-test inferential statistical analysis and post-hoc Tukey test were applied to evaluate statistically significant differences between specific data groups. The results show that bad water quality was registered on all the profiles on an annual basis (WQI = 65–71). The river water pH decreases downstream, while values of BOD ₅ , suspended solids, turbidity, TON, phosphates and coliform bacteria gradually increase. The waters of the Nišava at the station Niš belong to the third class of waters and they are mostly loaded with organic matter originating from waste sewage and industrial waters of both urban and rural areas.