State: Montana, Sofia, VratsaArea: 30879,8 ха
Ownership: state - 54%; municipality - 24%; private - 22%;
Description:
The site includes Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park with the bigger part of the Vrachanska Mountain and the massif of Lakatnik Rocks. It occupies the area between the pre-Balkan and the main Balkan Mountain chain and rises south of the town of the town of Vratsa and the Vratsa plain. Its limit to the south is the deeply cutting gorge of the Iskar river. Its western limit is Druzhevska saddle. It is about 30 km long and 10–15 km wide. The base rock is carbonate – Triast and Jura limestones, which are quite characteristic for karst development. A big part of the territory of the Vrachanski Balkan is occupied by surface karst forms, like hollows, potholes, whirlpools, etc., situated among secondary grasslands and large beech forests. Concerning the vegetation, there is a clear vertical distinction of two belts: up to 700 m – oak, from 700 m to 1000 m – beech. The characteristic geological and morphological structure of the Vrachanski Balkan – the presence of big areas occupied by vertical rocks and screes – define the comparatively broad distribution of chasmophyte plant communities (such, adhering to rocks) of Mediterranean type. As a rule this type of vegetation is xerophytic, heliophilic and prefers limestone rock terrain. Typical for the mountain are the forests of Fagus moesiaca with undergrowth of Daphne laureola and the forests of Carpinus betulus with undergrowth of Daphne oleoides. At some places there are forests and groups of trees of Austrian pine /Pinus nigra/ with relict character. On the screes there are communities of Acer monspessulanum, Juglans regia, etc. The territory supports over 700 species of vascular plants, which is almost 1/5 of Bulgaria’s flora. Fifty six of them are declared protected, as they are rare and threatened with extinction, and 26 are protected by the Biodiversirty Conservation Act.
Birds:
Vrachanski Balkan is one of the most interesting land forms, clearly standing out on the background of the other shares of the Western Balkan and the pre-Balkan. With its diversity of rocky crests, rounded tops, valleys, saddles, pot-holes and other forms, as well as with the relatively great difference in its altitude (from 200 to 1482 m) and diverse broadleaved and coniferous vegetation, it contributes to the existence of rich ornithofauna. It supports 139 bird species, 27 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 58 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 3 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened – the Corncrake Crex crex, 17 in SPEC 2 and 38 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 47 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 40 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. Vrachanski Balkan is of global importance for the Corncrake, which breeds there in considerable numbers. The area is one of the most important sites in Bulgaria on European Union scale for 5 bird species that breed there. These are the Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus, Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, Saker Falco cherrug, Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and Eagle Owl Bubo bubo. The Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, the Black Stork Ciconia nigra, the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio and the Kestrel Falco tinnunuculus have also representative breeding populations in the region.
Threats:
The region of Vrachanski Balkan is low populated, but there are a lot of settlements on its boundaries and annually it is visited by a lot of tourists because of famous historical places and nature landscapes. One big town – Vratsa is situated on its north-east border. Thus it is particularly sensitive to all human activities related to tourism and recreation, as well forestry, agriculture and water management. Piping the groundwater in the karst terrain for drinking water of the settlements affects all ecosystems of Vrachanski Balkan. The forestry during the breeding season have negative impact on birds. The tourism activities cause disturbance to birds, especially during the breeding season. So far these activities are localized in certain places. The insufficient control or expansion of the tourist activities, especially in new areas, could cause significant disturbance to birds, especially raptors, but also the Black Stork. During the last years the birds, especially to those which nest on the rocks are disturbed to a significant extent by the rock climbing, hang-gliding and illegal treasure hunting. The area of Vratsata is a popular climbing region with 116 labeled routes. Poaching also cause disturbance to birds. Though illegal, a lack of manpower inhibits the ability to enforce laws regarding hunting in the areas of the nature park. Maintenance of the grasslands is of crucial importance for the Corncrake. The mining and extraction activities along the Iskar River Gorge, especially detonations of rocks, cause disturbance to the rock-nesting birds on the border of the site, including one pair of Golden Eagle and at least one pair of Black Stork.
Legal protection:
The site includes – Vrachanski Balkan – the second largest park in Bulgaria, which covers 98% of the territory of the site. The park was designated in 1989 and declared as Nature Park of international importance in 1997. Its mission: to preserve biodiversity and the beauty of nature, to preserve cultural and historical heritage and to assure the recreation of tourist and locals. The park territory covers 28,844.8 ha – 20,733.4 ha of those are forest areas and 8,111.4 ha are agricultural areas. The park represents most of the Vratsa mountains and the massif of Lakatnik`s rocks. In the frame of this Park about 1,440 ha are protected as a Strict Reserve “Vrachanski Karst” with 477 ha buffer zone. It is designated for protection of a karst region with very interesting rock formations, and Vratsata, the highest vertical limestone walls (over 400 m) on the Balkan Peninsula and in Europe at low altitude. The park’s characteristic limestone karst is the richest cave region in Bulgaria. Over 500 caves and precipices are located here. They are unique because of their beauty and cave-dwelling organisms. Few of the caves, as well as three typical rocky landscapes are protected by the national nature conservation law. In 1998 Vrachanski Balkan was designated as CORINE Site, because of its European value for rare and threatened habitats, plant and animal species, including birds. In 2005 it was designated also as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
