Osredak Special Nature Reserve
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| Osredak | |
|---|---|
| Serbian Cyrillic: Осредак | |
 Interactive map of Osredak | |
| Location | Kruševac and Trstenik Serbia |
| Nearest city | Kruševac |
| Coordinates | 43°35′22″N 21°12′01″E / 43.589420°N 21.200360°E |
| Area | 245.75 ha (607.3 acres) |
| Established | 28 February 2020 |
| Governing body | JKP "Kruševac" |
Osredak Special Nature Reserve (Serbian: Специјални резерват природе Осредак / Specijalni rezervat prirode Osredak) is a natural monument in central Serbia. It has been declared a special nature reserve in 2020 in order to preserve the wetlands in the West Morava Valley. The wetland is important for the preservation of the water quality of the West Morava and is the only important wetland locality in the radius of 100 km (62 mi).[1]
The Osredak is situated almost in geographical center of Serbia, in the valley of the West Morava river. It is located in the Rasina District, spreading on the territory of the town of Kruševac (villages Bela Voda, Globoder and Kukljin) and the municipality of Trstenik (Bresno Polje). Distance from the owns of Kruševac and Trstenik is 14 km (8.7 mi) and 20 km (12 mi), respectively.[1]
Geography
The reserve is located in the central section of the West Morava Valley, situated in the fossil riverbed which in time turned into the wetland. It has been described as the green, watery island of protected nature surrounded by the fields of arable land. It consists of numerous distributaries, meanders, oxbow lakes and over 40 small, man-made lakes created in the process of gravel digging. The reserve, roughly shaped like the sideways figure eight, spawns along both banks of the West Morava, being bounded by the Belovodska Reka on the right side of the Morava, and by the Kukljinska Reka on the right side. The West Morava meanders for 5 km (3.1 mi) through the reserve.[1][2][3]
It was recorded that in the 1890-2014 period, the West Morava changed its course 9 times in the Osredak area. The wetland is important in preservation of the river's water quality, acting as the West Morava's "kidneys". Partially polluted water spills over into the marshland. Passing through the swamp vegetation, the organic matter and other materials in the water are being deposited, and the water is less polluted by half when it returns into the river at the other end of the marsh.[1]
There is a depository of Paleozoic crystallized schist with high level of metamorphism. It forms the bed below, with various sediments above it: Neogene rock complex, Quaternary rock complex, Bela Voda sandstone and Pannonian-Pontic sediments.[1][2]