Park

The University of Banjaluka Park is part of the University City complex. It occupies 21 ha with facilities. There are 28 facilities in the University City complex; two of them are of cultural and historical value. The complex began as the Austro-Hungarian barracks "Vrbas" at the end of the nineteenth century and it was used for military purposes until 2004 when the area was assigned to the University of Banja Luka. In 2010 the Genetic Resources Institute began the implementation of the park reclamation and the project for the protection of the whole complex. The project elaboration was carried out by the researchers of the Institute with the help of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural-Historical and Natural Heritage of the Republic of Srpska. The park reclamation project was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and RS Forestry Agency.

Having been neglected and in a very poor condition for a long time, the entire area of the complex had to undergo reclamation. One of the initial activities in this direction was the evaluation the woody plants in the University City Park. The location of each tree was determined as well as its number and mapped. All location data were directly taken on the ground using GPS system or by means of orthogonal method, and then transferred on to GIS. By means of the macroscopic examination of the trees and shrubs, the project established the presence of different pests, the health condition of alleys, and also the recommended reclamation measures.  

It has been recorded a total of 1503 woody plants in the park, of which 1386 trees and 117 shrubs. Of the total number, 819 trees are conifers, and the rest of 684 are deciduous.  A total 77 species (of which 25 species are conifers and 52 are deciduous) are noted. 212 woody plants have been estimated as valuable. Particularly important and valuable ones, actually, the real natural monuments are:  Narrow-leafed Ash, Common Oak, a group of Swamp Cypress, a group of Elm Trees, an avenue of Plane Trees, and also individual specimens of rare or important species such as Picea omorika or Abies grandis.

If we review the recent results on the Park’s evaluation, it can be concluded that the area of University complex is a significant collection of tree and shrub species for several reasons: it has aesthetic value, it is important as an educational area, the area for biodiversity conservation and the area for environmental protection and improvement, as well.