Биодиверзитет - 1 Флора
Flora
662 species of diatoms, 1260 species of vascular plants, more than 260 species of moss, 500 fungi and 160 lichens are currently known on Sar Mountain. The forests found in the park are broad-leaved, coniferous and mixed. About 75% of them are pure forests, consisting of one type of tree, mostly beech or oak. In addition to them, there are also other species such as: fir, chestnut, spruce, mountain maple, hornbeam and species with endemic and relic importance such as the Macedonian pine, the mountain pine, the mountain maple, etc.
Биодиверзитет - 2 Фауна
Fauna
Sar Mountain is home to a great variety of invertebrates, and 56 species of molluscs and nearly 300 species of false scorpions, spiders and crustaceans have been recorded. So far, a total of 1847 species of insects are known, of which more than 900 species of butterflies, and 160 species of beetles.
5 species of fish have been confirmed in the freshwater habitats, including the Macedonian and Californian trout. In these habitats there are 11 species of amphibians and 17 species of reptiles. This represents 78.5% of amphibian species and 47% of reptile species from the total number of species at the national level.
Among vertebrates, the richest group represented by the largest number of species is that of birds, which are represented by 128 species. Various birds of prey are present, such as: golden eagle, griffon vulture, Egyptian vulture, peregrine falcon, etc. A total of 51 species of mammals are represented, such as brown bear, Eurasian (Balkan) lynx, wild cat, otter, wild boar, chamois, roe deer, wolf, red fox, badger and some species of martens.
Биодиверзитет - 3 Хидрографија
Hydrography
The Sar Mountain area is characterized by more than 100 springs and 20 river basins, including their main watercourses and tributaries, as well as many glacial lakes. The main river basins are the basins of the Dufska, Vrutnička, Jelovjanska, Kamenjska, Uliverička and the Pena River, and they all flow into the Vardar River. Larger glacial lakes are Bozovačko, White Lake, Bogovinjsko, Karanikolicko, Krivoshiško and Black Lake. Most of the rivers descend steeply, and some of them (Belovishka, Vratnichka, Krivoshijska, Leshnička and Bogovinjska) form impressive waterfalls.
Already in the period of the seventies, the rivers of the Sar Mountain were used for the production of electricity through the water collection system called "Waters of Sara". This system collects water from a large number of rivers and transports it to the Mavrovo reservoir and to the Vrutok, Raven and Vrben hydropower plants. This infrastructure provides about 12% of the electricity in RN Macedonia and in the event of a complete power outage, it can be produced based only on the flow of water.
Биодиверзитет - 4 Геологија и геоморфологија
Geology and geomorphology
The relief of Sar Mountain is varied, mainly due to its geological diversity. The mountains are characterized by a large number of peaks with an altitude of more than 2000 meters. The glacial and fluvial relief has created an area characterized by a high density of valleys and gorges, short valleys cut into limestone, quartzite and granitoid rock.
The geological structure of Sar Mountain is dominated by Paleozoic metamorphic rocks with a low degree of resistance, which also affected the relief features of this mountain. In some places, metamorphites (quartzites, marbles) can be observed that appear in the relief itself (eg Leshnica). Elsewhere there are outcrops of harder granitoid rocks. Carbonate rocks occur on about 11% of the mountain's surface and are affected by karstification.
In terms of morphometric characteristics, the mountain stretches for a length of 75 km, at an altitude between 470 meters in Polog Valley and 2747 meters on Titov Vrv peak, mainly in a northeast-south-southwest-south direction.
One of the main morphological elements of Sar Mountain is the developed fluvial relief. There are many V-shaped valleys formed by intense vertical incision and there are numerous gorges, some with short canyon segments cut into very solid rocks (limestones, quartzites, granitoids). Some valleys have a fluvio-glacial character. Due to the large height difference between the mountains to the Polog Valley, the longitudinal fall of the rivers is significant, creating rivers characterized by numerous rapids and waterfalls. So far, the entrances of about 10 caves and several sinkholes have been recorded, mainly in the limestones of the Pena Valley.
Биодиверзитет - 5 Клима
Climate
The average annual air temperature of Popova Shapka (1780 meters above sea level) is 4.8 °C, the average maximum and minimum are 30.6 °C and -23.0 °C. The average amount of precipitation in the park during the year is about 700 mm, which reaches up to 1250 mm in the mountains.
