The influence of deposits from copper mining and smelting combine Bor on the vegetation of riverside of the river Timok (Eastern Serbia)

Abstract

The quantity of tail and other harmful products of RTB-Bor (Copper mining and smelting combine Bor) have significantly increased since the mid twentieth century, and were carried into the lower stream of the river Timok, mainly through the Borska River. Flooding the surrounding areas and producing thick deposits of substratum with the extreme characteristics caused the devastation and degradation of the autochthonous plant communities and large areas of arable land. This caused the appearance of new, atypical species such as Betula pendula Roth, Robinia pseudoacacia, Amorpha fruticosa, Calamagrostis epigeios, Erigeron Canadensis and other species in the devastated and degraded community of Salici-Populetum albae in the areas of Tamnic, Brusnik and Bracevac villages, and they have significantly changed typical floristic composition of the community.