State: VarnaArea: 10075,63 ха
Ownership: state - 61%; municipality - 6%; private - 33%;
Description:
The Kamchia nature complex is located at about 25 km south of the city of Varna. It includes the riverine flooded forests (“Bulgarian longoze forests”) around the estuary and the lower stream of the Kamchia River, a sand strip with vast sand dunes, shrubs and grasslands, freshwater marshes and marine aquatic area, as well as the adjacent fishponds. Quite typical are the marshy areas in the forest - remnants of former riverbeds that are naturally connected with the river. The complex also includes the former Staro Oryahovo Marsh to the south-east of the Kamchia reserve, which has been turned into farmland. Extensive flooded areas, attracting many waterfowl are formed there in winter and in spring. The main habitat in the complex is the longoze flooded forest of Fraxinus oxycarpa, Quercus pedunculiflora, Ulmus minor, Acer campestrе and Alnus glutinosa, with undergrowth of Crataegus monogyna, Cornus mas and Cornus sanguinea, often combined with mesophyte and hygrophyte grass vegetation (Bondev 1991). Other typical plants are the lianas and climbing plants, represented by 8 grass and 5 tree species (Clematis vitalba, Smilax exelsa, Periploca graeca, etc.). The marshy areas amidst the forest and the several small marshlands between the forest and the sand dunes are overgrown with reed Phragmites australis and reed mace Typha angustifolia. The shrub associations are composed mainly of Paliurus spina-christi, Crataegus monogyna, Ligustrum vulgare. The sand dunes are covered with psamophyte grass associations, dominated by Leymus racemosus, Ammophilla arenaria, Alyssum borseanum, etc.
Birds:
Kamchia riverine seasonally flooded forest is a representative example of this wetland type for Europe. The forest ecosystem is a unique one in respect of the vegetation composition and structure and the specific ecological conditions. This type of forest ecosystem is spread only on the Balkans, and the Kamchia forest is the biggest in area and the most preserved one. The region of the Kamchia Nature Complex currently supports 237 bird species, 53 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 101 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 7 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 25 in SPEC 2 and 69 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 82 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 76 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus, Pied Wheatear Oenanthe pleshanka and Semi-collared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata breed in the complex in considerable numbers and therefore it is one of the important sites for these species in Europe. There the Semi-collared Flycatcher has the densest breeding population in the country. Kamchia flooded forest is one of the three places along the Black Sea Coast where the White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla is confirmed to breed. The Kamchia is located on the Via Pontica migration flyway and the diversity of migrants there is very rich. The huge forest massifs provide roosts for great numbers of birds of prey. Passing flocks of White Storks Сiconia сiconia, Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus and White Pelicans P. onocrotalus can be observed there every year on migration, along with the Corncrake Crex crex and representatives of the herons, plovers, waders and songbirds. The flooded areas to the south-west of the reserve are especially valuable as wintering grounds of the Whooper Swan Cygnus Cygnus, Great White Egret Egretta alba and Red-breasted Goose Branta ruficollis. In winter the Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus also stays in the areas, although not in big numbers.
Threats:
The Kamchia Complex contains of diverse type of wetland habitats and it is particularly sensitive to all human activities related to water management. The water regime of the flooded forest is disturbed and that is considered as a main threat to its normal functioning as an ecosystem. There are 4 main reasons having led to this problematic situation. Those are the embankment and canalising of the river bed, drainage of the Staro Oryahovo Marsh and building of 5 big reservoirs along the upper and the middle stream of the Kamchia River. Through the establishment of a drainage system the Staro Oryahovo marsh has been changed into arable lands. That is the major negative human impact within the Kamchia natural complex. Besides the direct destroying of valuable marshland habitats for the biodiversity and disturbing the water regime of the adjacent forest, the drainage system has additionally activated the intrusion of saline marine waters in the freshwater underground aquifer, feeding the forest. The possible removal of the drainage system would considerably contribute to the improving of the water regime in the riverine forest. The use of chemical in surrounding agriculture lands affects the water quality and chemistry. An international road crosses the eastern part of the Kamchia Complex and significantly affects the surrounding territories by pollution and cause fragmentation of the riverine forest habitat. In recent years there has been significant pressure on the Kamchiisky Pyasatsi Protected Area. Even attempts for removal of protection status of the territory are taking place for construction of summer resorts and development of the mass tourism.
Legal protection:
So far 18% of the Kamchia Complex is under legal protection according to the national nature protection law. The flooded forest at Kamchia River Mouth was designated as “Kamchia” Reserve in 1951. The sand dunes are designated as “Kamchiiski Pyasatsi” Protected Area in 1980. The “Kamchia” Reserve is designated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977. In 1989 it was designated as Important Bird Area by Bird Life International and its territory was enlarged twice – in 1997 and in 2005 in order to preserve all the valuable habitats for the threatened species typical for the complex. In 1998 the “Kamchia” Reserve was designated as CORINE Site because of its European value for rare and threatened habitats, plant and animal species, including birds.
