State: Ruse, SilistraArea: 9431,82 ха
Ownership: state - 64%; municipality - 9%; private - 27%;
Description:
Kalimok Complex includes a big former Danubian marsh, turned into fishponds, Bezimenen Island, covered with riverine forests and the section of the Danube bank between them. It is located to the north of the village of Nova Cherna. In the 1950s the marsh was drained by the building of a dyke that separated it from the Danube and digging drainage canals. As the lands were not suitable for agriculture, fishponds were established there with their ponds divided by wet and swampy meadows in two parts – eastern and western. The ponds periodically dry up and the water level is maintained by pumping water from the Danube. For economic reasons the fishponds are currently abandoned. South of their eastern part the swampy meadows become a marshland. The main habitat is formed by the fishpond basins, the surface of which is almost entirely covered by marsh vegetation, dominated by Typha angustifolia, at places mixed with Typha latifolia, Typha laxmanii and Shoenoplectus lacustris. The pool fringes and the dykes are overgrown with reed Phragmites australis (Bondev 1991). The plants, prevailing in the open water areas are Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Nymphaea alba, Nymphoides peltata, Trapa natans, etc. The banks of the draining canal are also overgrown with reedbeds, at places interspersed with willows Salix sp.. The wet meadows are covered mainly by different acid grasses, their periphery with Phragmites australis, Shoenoplectus litoralis, etc. Between the river and the fishponds there is a periodically flooded riverine forest of willows Salix spp. and poplars Populus spp., with rich undergrowth and climbing plants, at places with small water pools. Bezimenen Island is entirely overgrown with riverine forests, mainly of White Willow Salix alba and White Poplar Populus alba.
Birds:
Kalimok Fishponds are one of the key places of international importance for waterfowl along the Danube. It supports 188 bird species, 61 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 85 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 9 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 18 in SPEC 2 and 58 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 71 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 64 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The fishponds are of global importance for the breeding Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and a roosting place for the Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus. One of the two existing colonies of the Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus along the Danube River is situated there. During the breeding season the Kalimok Complex is one of the most important sites in the country at European Union level for Ferruginous Duck, Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides, Bittern Botaurus stellaris, Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Black-winged Stilt, European Roller Coracias garrulus, as well as for three species of terns –Common Tern Sterna hirundo, Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus and Black Tern Chlidonias niger. The complex is a constant breeding and feeding place for a pair of White-tailed Eagles Haliaeetus albicilla. During migration considerable numbers of White Storks Ciconia ciconia and Glossy Ibises Plegadis falcinellus concentrate in the region. In this period and in winter the fishponds are a site of global importance for the Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus and Greylag Goose Anser anser. They are an important site for wintering Fieldfare Turdus pilaris. In winter great quantities of waterfowl concentrate there, including Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis, White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons, etc.
Threats:
The fishponds entirely depend on their artificial connection to the Danube and the maintenance of the water regime. The extensive way of fish production, which allows floating and fringe vegetation to grow, is crucial for the value of the area. Change of the management practice of the fishponds, including periodical drainage of parts of the wetland, abandonment of fish pools, removal of natural vegetation in some parts, as well as turning some of the fish pools into arable land are the main human activities, which have a negative impact on wetland habitats. Because of the small territory the area is sensible to all kinds of disturbance by human activities such as hunting, fishing during the breeding period, collection of plants and animals. Intensification of fish production will cause further deterioration of the key habitats for birds. A project for restoration of the wetland for retention and purification of Danube water and maintaining biodiversity is under implementation. Big investment projects related to international transport corridor No1 – Danube river - is in contradiction with the restoration project and will cause permanent change in the hydrological regime of the wetland, as it is directly related to the Danube.
Legal protection:
About 63% of the territory of Kalimok Complex is under legal protection by the national law. The “Kalimok-Btushlen” Protected Area was designated in 2001 to protect the typical ecosystems and landscapes, as well as to protect the threatened plant and animal species. Small part of the area, about 8%, is appointed in 1998 as CORINE site because of its European value for habitats, rare and threatened plant and animal species, including birds. In 1989 the area was designated as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International. The proposed SPA borders a proposed Special Protection Area in Romania.
