After more than 50 years of constant disappearance of the golden pine, the symbol of Zlatibor, thanks to the support of the European Union, this unique pine will once again gild the slopes of this mountain. Last weekend, 800 white pine seedlings were planted in a joint action of the Discover Serbia association, the Faculty of Forestry, public enterprise Srbijašume and the EU Delegation in Serbia. The seedlings will serve as a substrate for golden pine grafting.
“Our goal is to preserve the natural resources of this region and at the same time protect its biodiversity, to involve the locals in the revival of the golden pine and make them proud, and to give nature lovers and tourists another reason why to visit Zlatibor,” says Sena Marić from the Delegation in Serbia.
The golden pine is a rare variation on the white pine, which was first recorded by forestry engineer Salih Omanović in 1927, and the first grafting was started by Dr. Mihailo Tošić in 1994. Today, the golden pine population has reduced to only four surviving trees.
Thanks to science, dedicated individuals and social activism, today it is possible to save the golden pine from oblivion.
Vladan Ivetić, a professor at the Faculty of Forestry in Belgrade, explains that golden bristles are not a hereditary characteristic, and that it was decided to reproduce vegetatively, that is, by grafting. “The saplings are of white pine, and the branches are the branches of the golden pine that we found on the field. It is very important to preserve these rare occurrences both for the sake of biodiversity and for the fact that they can be used later for other purposes”, says professor Ivetić.
The entire campaign will last for one year. Vladimir Pavlović from the Discover Serbia association explains that the grafting will be done in the spring, on the white pine seedlings that have been matured. “Considering that there are only four golden pines, every twig that we take for a graft is precious to us, and that is why it is important to create optimal conditions for the grafts to succeed,” says Pavlović.
A third of the successful golden pine seedlings will be transplanted around Zlatibor, a third will be donated to famous institutions of Zlatibor, and a third will be offered for sale for humanitarian purposes – the collected funds will be intended to support children from Zlatibor.
The planting was organized as part of the European Week of Green Diplomacy, which is celebrated in Serbia from November 15 to 24.
