State: Lovech, Pleven, VratsaArea: 14208,69 ха
Ownership: state - 22%; municipality - 34%; private - 44%;
Description:
Karlukovski Karst is located in north-western Bulgaria, in the pre-Balkan between the town of Cherven Bryag on the north and the Kosmatitsa river valley and the Iskar gorge on the south. On the west and east it covers the grounds of the villages of Drashan, Kameno Pole and Dolna Breshovitsa up to the town of Lukovit. The site is located in a hilly karst region, cut by canyon-like river gorges. The baserock is of Triast and Jurassic limestones, at many places exposed in rocky crests, walls, stony plateaus, pot-holes and caves. A big share of the territory is occupied by open grasslands with xerothermal associations with prevalence of Dichantium ischaemum, Poa bulbosa, Chrysopogon gryllus, etc., small patches of mesophyle meadows with Festuca pratensis, Poa sylvicola, Alopecurus pratensis, Lolium perenne, Agrostis stolonifera, etc., as well as shrubs dominated by Carpinus orientalis. Of the forest habitats the broadleaved oak forests are best represented. The mixed forests of Quercus cerris and Quercus frainetto predominate. In some places these forests are mixed with Carpinus orientalis (Bondev 1991).
Birds:
Karlukovski Karst is an important breeding habitat for many petrophile bird species. The area supports 128 bird species, 25 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 57 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 2 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 18 in SPEC 2 and 37 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 41 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 37 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. Karlukovski Karst is one of the most important sites in Bulgaria on European Union scale for the breeding Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes, Eagle Owl Bubo bubo, Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus, European Kingfisher Alcedo atthis and the Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria. It is of European importance for the Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus that breeds there in very dense population. The area holds good breeding populations on a national level of the Tawny Pipit Anthus campestris, the Black Stork Ciconia nigra and the White Stork Ciconia ciconia. Two globally threatened species regularly occur in the area – the Corncrake Crex crex as breeding species and the Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus during the migration.
Threats:
The area of Karlukovski Karst is situated in relatively densely populated region with well-developed infrastructure. Thus the access to the site is not limited and it is pressed by the ongoing human activities mainly related to agriculture, forestry and tourism. The grasslands on the slopes of Karlukovski karst are overgrazed by goats, which destroy the shrub vegetation, the low trees, and forest undergrowth and cause increase soil erosion. In the other areas the grazing of grasslands by cattle and sheeps is vital for maintenance of valuable habitats. Other activities related to fragmentation and deterioration of grasslands habitats are the treasure hunting, digging up of caves and pollution by household and industrial waste. The direct threat to birds is the disturbance by tourists, rock climbing close to the birds’ nests, inappropriate construction of eco-paths that are not made in consideration of the vulnerability of the area, as well as the detonations made for opening of the caves. The poaching and collection of animals, including protected ones, is common practice in the area.
Legal protection:
The total area with legal protection by national nature conservation law is less than 1% of the site’s territory. 17 protected areas are designated. 16 are nature monuments and one is under “Protected area” category. Most of them are designated to protect the caves and rock formations. About 63% of the site overlaps with Karlukovski Karst CORINE Site, which was designated in 1998 because of its European value for rare and threatened habitats, plant and animal species, including birds. In 2005 it was designated as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
