Borov Vrh Old-Growth Forest, Croatia
Ancient human influence on European woodlands has resulted in the extinction of many forest types which have become exceedingly rare in their pristine form, if not nonexistent. The Balkan peninsula, due to its remoteness and late industrialization, still contains perhaps the last great wildernesses of Europe aside from the Caucasus, Russia and Fennoscandia. Even though the once vast old-growth forests here were mostly logged in just the past century or two, the current state of logging is a destructive profit-driven practice throughout the region. Despite the political corruption that has assaulted many great forests in southeastern Europe, there are still unique protected ecosystems which can be found nowhere else on Earth. One of the greatest remaining examples of such an oasis can be found on the coastal slopes of the Velebit Mountain, where large forests of virgin black pine (Pinus nigra) still grow undisturbed.
Most of these pine groves are protected in both the Northern Velebit National Park and Paklenica National Park and are partially included in a World Heritage site called “Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe”. This type of pine forest is considered a relic in today’s world, once being far more widespread. In Northern Velebit National Park these trees occupy elevations from nearly sea level all the way up to around 1200 m. There is more than one area of primeval pine forest in the park, but the site described here is a large complex known as “Borov Vrh” or “Pine Peak”. There are no trails to this forest area. To visit the location, one will need to find a guide from the Velebit Nature Park or Northern Velebit National Park.
Around Borov Vrh, at elevations of 800–1100 m, ancient pines cover valleys, slopes, and ridgetops with each of these areas developing trees of different characteristics. Average annual temperatures are above 7oC and average annual precipitation exceeds 1500 mm. The soil varies from relatively deep to almost completely rocky, with some ridges composed of sheer cliffs. The warmer and less humid climate here creates an entirely different world than the cooler and wetter forests found only several kilometers deeper into the mountains.
