State: Pazardzhik, PlovdivArea: 14765,05 ха
Ownership: state - 21%; municipality - 29%; private - 50%;
Description:
The Besaparski Hills are located at the South West end of the Thracian plain near by the town of Pazardzhik, in the foothills of the Rhodopes Mountain. It includes the low ridges and the adjacent open areas, reaching the road to Peshtera to the west and the Vucha river to the east. Its northern limit is the Maritsa river and its southern passes through the grounds of the villages of Radilovo, Byaga, Kozarskoto and reaches the town of Krichim. The area includes also the fishponds next to the village of Trivoditsi. Besaparski Hills are limestone treeless hills. The average altitude is 350 m and maximum 536 m. About 90% of the area is occupied by dry calciphile and xerophyte grass associations and farmlands, as well as temperate shrub heath land. The most widespread grassland communities on the territory of Besaparski Hills are these of the Bread-grass Dichantium ischaemum due to the fact that the species is very resistant to grazing, trampling and especially erosion. There are isolated spots of broadleaved and mixed forests. Shrubs and low trees occupy a small share of the territory. Besaparski Hills represents calcareous hills with a characteristic flora, which defines their importance as refugia of rare, endemic and relict species. A local endemic species, Gypsophila tekirae, occurs on the ridges. Of the mammals the Souslik Spermophillus citellus deserves special attention, as it is the main prey of the diurnal raptors, some of which are very rare and threatened.
Birds:
The Besaparski Hills supports 86 breeding bird species, 15 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 43 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 2 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 12 in SPEC 2 and 29 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 25 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 22 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. Besaparski Hills are of global importance for the for the conservation of globally threatened Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca and one of the most valuable sites for the statistical regions of the European Union concerning the breeding Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris, Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, Saker Falcon Falco cherrug, and Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra. As the area is rich of food it holds also significant breeding populations of other raptors as Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina, Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus, Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus, etc. Species typical for the dry grasslands also breed there in representative numbers – the Stone Curlew Burchinus oedicnemus, the Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydatyla, etc.
Threats:
The Besaparski Hills lies in the South Central Region of Bulgaria, which is the second in Bulgaria by density of the population – 70.7 personskm2. Settlements around the area are lively with an average of more than 2,100 inhabitants per village, which indicates a more stable local population and human resource. The infrastructure is well developed. Urbanization in the surrounding areas is under continuous development. These makes the area easy accessible to people and pressed by high diversity of human activities there. The Besaparski Hills have a good mixture of well-preserved nature and traditional agricultural practices. It is quite intensively used in terms of agricultural practices. The vegetables and plants cultivation is well developed there, as well as livestock breeding. There are several agricultural market initiatives that stimulate vegetable green house production as increasing interest to organic farming and agriculture. In the region of the Besaparski Hills because of the climatic conditions, the low altitude and large number of arable fields only 10% of the animal feed is provided through grazing and haymaking from natural pastures. The major problem, which causes deterioration and loss of valuable habitats, is the gradual turning of the pastures and meadows into vineyards and arable land. The construction of pits for extraction of inert materials also leads to loss of grassland habitats. Nevertheless that the area is not suitable for afforestation, this activity is planned and implemented in the region. Other threats that affect the quality of habitats are the use of pesticides in agriculture lands, burning of harvested agriculture lands. One of the potential threats both to the habitats and to the birds in the area is the development of wind turbine farms. Such wind turbine farms will limit the access of the birds of prey to their hunting territories. They will cause also disturbed movement and direct persecution of birds. Practices in Spain show complete extinction of vulnerable birds species from the breeding grounds once wind turbine farms are constructed. Cutting of trees and shrubs along Maritsa River and afforestation with non-native species, construction of sand pits there, deteriorate the habitats important for the Pygmy Cormorant and other species related to that habitats. The general threat to threat to birds of prey is the direct killing of Sousliks and destruction of its habitats. Direct threats to birds are caused by poaching (taking chicks and eggs from the nests, shooting of raptors), disturbance by gliding and hang-gliding, forestry activities during the breeding period and off road traffic of motor vehicles. Existing electrical power lines are dangerous for raptors, especially for young birds. Illegal and uncontrolled deposit of waste is threatening factor for birds because of possible felling of poison there, which is easy accessible to birds.
Legal protection:
Only one small area, which covers less than 1% of Besaparski Hills territory, is under legal protection by the national nature conservation legislation. About 35% of the Besaparski Hills was designated as CORINE Site in 1998 because of its European value for rare and threatened habitats, plant and animal species. In 2005 it was designated also as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
