Subotička Peščara ( sr-cyr, Суботичка пешчара) or Subotica Sands is an

inland dune Inland dunes are eolian sand dunes that are found inland, away from coastal regions. Formation In Central Europe, towards the end of the last glacial period (about 12,000 years ago), it was about 10 degrees colder than today. There was t ...

habitat located in northern

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, along the Hungarian border. The area stretches across the far north of the

Bačka Bačka ( sr-cyrl, Бачка, ) or Bácska () is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary ...

region, in the municipality of

Subotica Subotica ( sr-cyrl, Суботица, ; hu, Szabadka) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the North Bačka District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. Formerly the largest city of Vojvodina region, ...

. It is protected as an landscape of outstanding features "Subotičko-horgoška peščara", occupying an area of 53.70 km². Today's undulating

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

s are a result of the past aeolian activity; the area has been largely forested. The planned forestation of the Subotica Sands began in the late 18th century. Today the habitat constitutes a mix of forest,

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

and wetland. The eastern part of the area is made up of banks of the border river Kereš.

Flora

Traces of primeval vegetation from the Subotica Sands provide valuable testimony to the plant life of the ancient

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only the ...

. Among the preserved species is the

Meadow Saffron ''Colchicum autumnale'', commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, whi ...

which has its only growing spot in Serbia in the Subotica Sands.

Fauna

A number of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

species have been recorded in the Subotica Sands, most notably the

lesser mole rat The lesser blind mole-rat (''Spalax leucodon'') is a species of rodent in the family Spalacidae. It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, North Macedonia, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey and Ukrain ...

. A total of around 170 different bird species have been observed here. This is the reason why the area is part of the international important bird areas conservation programme.

References

Protected areas of Serbia {{Serbia-geo-stub