Nature

The dry, limestone meadows are located on the south-western slopes of Papuk. The meadow ground is rather shallow and dry. Limestone meadows have a very rich flora and are habitat for numerous rare species, like orchids, ophrys insectifera, small orchids and the Pannonian clover (Trifolium pannonicum).

The area Turjak – Mališćak – Pliš – Lapjak, includes isolated habitats of the continental karst, with single open meadow habitats in which a specific, rare and endangered herbaceous flora has developed, such as the blue windflower, gentle snake´s head (Fritilaria orientalis), Phyteuma orbiculare and leopards bane (Doronicum orientale).

The botanical very valuable area of Turjak ist the habitat of the smallest lizard in Croatia – ivanjski rovaš (Ablepharus kitaibelii).

Moist meadows cover very small aereas, but are habitat for one of the endangered plant sorts in Croatia pulmonary gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), and the swamp pumice (Phengaris alcon alcon) – a critically endangered and strictly protected butterfly.

Because of its interesting and complex life cycle, the swamp pumice was always subject to many researches. Namely, this butterfly exists only in a determined type of habitat – moist meadows, where their feeder plant, the pulmonary gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) is growing, or lesser the forest gentian (Gentiana asclepiadea), and where the ants hosts of the kind Myrmica are present.   Grown swamp pumices appear during July and August, when they after being fertilized lay their eggs on the sustainer plant. After about ten days little caterpillars are braking out of the eggs and crawl into the blossom, where they are feeding from parts of the plant. After about three weeks, at a warm evening, when the activities of the ants are the liveliest, the caterpillar bites its way out of the flower and alights on a silken thread down to the ground. On the rear part of its body it exudes a sweet fluid that attracts the ants, why they carry it to their anthill. Inside the anthill, the ants treat the caterpillars as their own larvae – they feed and clean them. As larvae the caterpillars spent about seven to eight months in the anthill and in spring they create their cocoon near the exit of the anthill. After one month, most often in July, grown butterflies leave the cocoons. In Croatia this sort was noticed first in 2004 in the National Park Plitvice lakes, and after that on just two other localities in the continental and mountain part of Croatia, one of these localities is the Nature Park Papuk.

Today the whole grasslands ecosystem is in danger to disappear, because of the loss of the traditional low intensive farming, based on mowing and grassing of those grasslands. Meadows and pastures where there are bushes and thicket are not a suitable habitat for the grassland species.

The richness with water on Papuk, is a natural feature of the Nature Park Papuk, made by specific geological built and relief, as well as the climate features of the area. The ridge crest of Papuk represents hydrological watershed of two basins, the basin of the river Sava and the river Drava.

Papuk is rich with mountain wells and creeks, representing the habitat of specific fish sorts, amphibians, reptiles and numerous sorts of aquatic invertebrates. The endangered Hippurus vulgaris, the narrow leaf buttercup (Ranunculus trichophyllus) and the yellow iris (Iris pseudoacorus) which are widespread only in Europe, stand especially out from the aquatic plants.

The cool, clear creek water is the habitat of the autochthonous river trout, and there can be barbells lappets, bleaks, lampreys and other. We find here also the endangered population of river crabs (Astacus astacus) and turtles, and several sorts of frogs. Otters (Lutra lutra) sometimes visit the Papuk creeks. The dipper (Cinclus cinclus) is an unusual bird, diving and walking on the bottom of the creek, searching for water insects, besides him, the mountain wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) found his habitat there too.

On the Jankovac well, a endemic sort of snail, Graziana papukensis, was found, living in gypsum rocks on wells and creeks on Jankovac.

The connection between man and forest is old as the history of the World. People always found shelter, food, firewood and building materials in sufficient amounts in the forest. Forests are also sources of inspiration for artists and a place for recreation for people tired of the city. Forests create oxygen, protect from noise, preserve water supplies, prevent erosions, and the devastation of the ground… Forests are habitat to numerous herbal and animal species, ringworms and mushrooms. In young forests, with thin and densely trees, or in forests where trees are cut down much and the undergrowth is cleansed often, not many animal sorts are living in. Real forest species can live only in old, mature forests, without too much cutting and arranging. On the list of the endangered species, exactly those birds, insects, mushrooms and ringworms are found, who live only in old forests.

Because of the various reliefs, geologic and microclimatic conditions, but also because of the variety of the grounds in the Nature Park Papuk, we find even 10 sorts of forest communities, covering about 96% of the area. The oak and hornbeam forests, dominate over the area up to 350 m above sea level. Above these areas is the beech forest zone. Beech and meals forests grow on the area above 700 m. On the part of the southern, warm slopes of Papuk and Krndija, various sorts of oak forests are growing.

The forests of the Nature Park Papuk, especially the old ones, support the nationally important populations of endangered bird sorts. In the Nature Park Papuk about 18% of the Croatian stock doves (Columba oenas), who are on the list of endangered species are nesting, an 6.6% of the European population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis).Both species nest in smaller or bigger

old tree holes. Gold crests (Regulus regulus), fire crests (Regulus ignicapillus) and jays (Nucifraga caryocatactes), along with the woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos), nest in beech and meals forests, and represent an isolated community of mountain birds in this part of Croatia.

Bigger mammals habituating on this area are deer (Cervus elaphus), (Capreolus capreolus), wild boars (Sus scrofa), foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and martens (Martes sp.). Smaller mammals living in the forests are dormouse (Glis glis), squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), field voles (Microtus arvalis), common forest mice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and field mice (Apodemus agrarius).

Old forests are the habitat of Lobarrie pulmonary, a rare and endangered species of ringworms, that disappeared from many European forests. The coral erinaceus (Hericium coralloides) and Catnella olivacea are rare sorts of mushrooms, depending on the amount of dead trees in the forest. They were found on Papuk only on the area of the Jankovac forest, and a special section of forest vegetation, Sekulinačka Mountain.

The Papuk underground – numerous caves, pits, and abysses – are habitat to interesting sorts of invertebrate, but they are also especially important as winter habitats and mating places for bats. They exist on the highest, karst area of the mountains Papuk and Krndija.

In the abyss Uviraljka, 11 sorts of bats were recorded during winter, what makes this sink a significant winter habitat for bats in European measures. Among the registered sorts, there is the endangered Bechstein´s bat (Myotis bechsteinii), and Uviraljka is the only known winter habitat of the Pond bat (Myotis dsycneme) in Croatia.

The abyss Uviraljka consists of more than 200 m mazes of narrow tunnels and is more than 30 m deep. The cave Kovačica is a unique abyss, more than 100 m long. The cave Suhodolka is the deepest cave in the continental part of Croatia, deeper than 90 meters. In the underground of Papuk, more than 80 animal species are recorded. Here live troglobiontic shrimps, of the gender Niphargus. That is a true underground species, without pigments on their body, or developed eyes.