One-year monitoring program was organized with the aim to assess the quality of sediment and water in these Vojvodina watercourses: the Begej, the Sava, the Botos, the Tisza, the Tamis, the Danube and the Danube-Tisza-Danube (DTD) Canal regarding metal content (Cr, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Hg) in them. Water was the 1st/2nd class by MPL of national requirements, except occasionally for the copper concentration on some locations. The highest concentrations of zinc, cadmium, chromium, copper and mercury were detected in the Begej sediment. Maximum nickel concentration was in the Sava sediment, and for lead in the Danube sediment.

The role of forest belts for surface water protection has great importance in two geomorphological ambiances: plains and hilly-mountainous. Plains ambiances are concerned to regions where dominates wind erosion: Backa, Banat, Macva, sandy terrains (Deliblatska, Suboticko-Horgoska, Ramsko-Golubacka, Kladovska), spacious surfaces in surroundings of hydrosystem DTD, natural and artificial reservoirs, river beds. Hilly-mountainous ambiance is related to regions where dominates pluvial erosion: catchment areas of reservoirs for water supply south from Sava and Danube, Fruska Gora mountain and Vrsac mountains.

During 2003 the referent monitoring of chemical quality of surface waters and sediments in Vojvodina (Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro) was conducted as a supplement to the regular monitoring program in Vojvodina. The aim of the study was to establish the chemical quality of surface waters and sediments. It is concluded that the water quality satisfies the criteria of the 1st/2nd class according to our legislation, with the exception of a few monitoring stations which showed a slight contamination with mineral oils and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)/ With regard to contamination of sediments with PAHs, organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) the Begej-Klek monitoring station may be considered as potentially problematic as the reference values according to Dutch legislation were exceeded for three classes of pollutants.