Rare and endangered plants of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Strong anthropogenic influence which puts increasing pressure on nature is now happening daily. Unplanned expansion of urban space, construction of roads, intensive felling of forests, soil erosion, drying of important biotopes, i.e. creation of new water reservoirs, exploitation of mineral and biological resources, etc. result in strong changes and gradual destruction of plant species and their habitats.

About 4,500 species (Redžić et al., 2008), subspecies and hybrids of ferns and flowering plants participate in the flora of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, of which 15% of the plant gene pool is endangered. The cause of expressed sensitivity often stems from low genetic variability, tendency to self-fertilization, weak ability to compete, etc.

The Red List of the Flora of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Đug et al., 2013) gathers data on 659 endangered wild plant species, classifying them in certain endangered categories according to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, version 3.1).

The exhibition “Rare and endangered plant species of Bosnia and Herzegovina” will give visitors the opportunity to get to know 30 representatives of the rare and endangered flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina.