Spatial and urban planning are directed towards achieving territorial cohesion as one of the sustainable development goals. Considering the hybrid concept of green infrastructure, this paper aims to provide an “ecological model” of achieving territorial cohesion in spatial and urban planning. Based on the connectivity level analysis between green infrastructure elements (green infrastructure hubs, nodes, gateways and dots), application of the GI concept guides the development of spatial planning scenarios. The application of Voronoi diagrams and landscape graph-based principles contribute to defining the shortest distances between green infrastructure elements, which resulted in the definition of the significance of structural and functional arrangement of green infrastructure dots in the matrix of the urban rural continuum in the territory of the urban-rural landscape of three case studies in Vojvodina, Serbia (Novi Sad, Subotica, Zrenjanin). As a result of this study, green infrastructure dots showed a great potential of application at the local level by developing them through landscape design with creative and artistic elements in order to achieve higher level of cohesion through visual attractivity, multifunctionality and recreation. The level of connectivity between elements of green infrastructure should be considered as an indicator of the sustainable spatial development goals achievement, in the field of nature conservation and territorial and social cohesion.

The structure and function of many forest ecosystems will be modified as a result of air pollution and climate change. Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) forests are among the first terrestrial ecosystems to respond to this change. We analysed how changes in climate and environmental factors will affect vegetation cover in Norway spruce forests and whether it is possible to assemble a list of diagnostically important/sensitive species that would be the first to react to changes in habitats of Norway spruce in Central Balkan. Significant changes in the vegetation cover of Norway spruce forests are mainly influenced by temperature increases (≈4 °C), and precipitation decreases (≈102 mm) by the end of the 21st century. Projections show that vegetation cover changes and future habitat conditions for Norway spruce forests on podzolic brown soils with a low base saturation and soil pH decreases, and temperature growth and precipitation decline, with the worst in the Rodope montane forest ecoregion. In Dinaric Mountain and Balkan mixed forest ecoregions, the range of natural occurrence of Norway spruce forest will shift to higher altitudes, or to the north. One of the cognitions of this paper is that, through available environmental models and their indices, species from the IUCN Red List should be recognised more properly and included in model calculations.

Wetlands store large amounts of soil organic carbon stock (SOCS), making them crucial for global climate regulation. However, climate change, poor management, and weak protection policies threaten these stocks. To assess the contribution of different wetland types for national and international climate targets and to monitor the effectiveness of protection measures, additional research is required. Therefore, we assessed SOCS and disturbances from climate change, land use/land cover (LULC), and soil chemical composition in saline and eutrophic Ramsar sites in Serbia. Analyzing a total of 96 samples, we accounted for soil depth, reference soil group (RSG), and habitat/vegetation type. Mean SOCS in the saline site ranged from approximately 36 t·ha⁻¹ at 0–30 cm to 26 t·ha⁻¹ at 30–60 cm, whereas values were much higher for the eutrophic sites, ranging from 81 to 82 t·ha⁻¹ at 0–30 cm and 47–63 t·ha⁻¹ at 30–60 cm. Differences between groups for the whole soil columns (0–60 cm) were significant at the 0.1% level. While SOCS generally decreases with depth, it showed notable local variability, including occasional instances at deeper layers, indicating complex environmental and anthropogenic influences. Spatial mapping of soil chemistry parameters (pH, humus, P₂O₅, and K₂O) along with land use/land cover (LULC) data revealed nutrient dynamics influenced by agricultural activities. An analysis of regional climate data revealed temperature increases relative to the reference period of 1971–2000 by 0.5 °C for the decade 2001–2010 and of 1.5 °C for 2011–2020. Climate projections under the RCP4.5 and 8.5 scenarios predict further warming trends, as well as increased rainfall variability and drought risks. The results of our study contribute to quantifying the important, though variable, contribution of wetland sites to global climate regulation and show the influence of geogenic, pedogenic, and anthropogenic factors on SOCS. National policies should be adapted to safeguard these stocks and to limit negative effects from surrounding agricultural areas, as well as to develop strategies to cope with expected regional climate change effects.

Wetlands are among the most vulnerable habitats on the planet. Very complex forest ecosystems are also parts of wetlands. Research and analysis of forest vegetation elements, leads to a conclusion about ecological conditions of wetlands. The aim of the paper is detail forest vegetation study, and analyzing the impact of climate changes on wetland forest vegetations of the strict protection area at the SNR Zasavica Ramsar site. Field research was carried out by using Braun-Blanquet?s Zurich-Montpelier school method. Phytogeographical elements and life forms of plants were determined subsequently, in order to get indicator values of wetland plants. Coupled Regional Climate Model (CRCM), EBU-POM was used for the climate simulations. Exact climatic variables for the site were determined by downscaling method. Climatic variables reference values were taken for the period of 1961-1990, and climate change simulations for the period 2071-2100 (A1B and A2). Indicator values of forest plants taken into consideration were humidity and temperature; therefore, ecological optimums were determined in scales of humidity and temperature. Regional Climate Model shows that there will be a long and intensive dry period in the future, with high temperatures from April till October. Continental winter will be more humid, with higher precipitation, especially in February. Based on the analysis of results it was concluded that wetlands are transitional habitats, also very variable and therefore vulnerable to changes. The changes may lead to the extinction of some plant species.

A growing body of evidence suggests that invasive plants can affect the stability of the ecosystem?s key species and influence flows and transformations of matter and energy in ecosystems. Since Symphyotrichum lanceolatum complex is one of the highly invasive plants in Serbia and many European countries, this study set out to determine floristic richness, struc?ture, and differentiations among the wet sites near linear corridors and to investigate the significance and representation of S. lanceolatum in degraded wet habitats. Accordingly, floristic diversity and the presence of other invasive plants were investigated in 22 wetland habitats. Overall, a total number of 179 plant taxa was found. Results showed four coenological groups. According to the invasive species coverage index (D%), S.lanceolatum dominated in all stands. Overall, based on the results, this study strengthens the idea that wet habitats belong to the group of habitats that are most susceptible to plant invasion.