Area: 99062,39 ха
Ownership: state - 56%; municipality - 35%; private - 9%;
Description:
Sredna Gora is located to the south of the Balkan Mountain and covers the entire mountain part of the Srednogorie proper, from the Topolnitsa river valley on the west to the grounds of the villages Bogdan, Karavelovo and Kliment on the east. To the north the site touches on the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountain and the Pirdop plain. Its southern border passes beyond Panagjurishte, Strelcha, Starosel and Mutenitsa. The mountain tops are wide and flat, with the peaks of Bratia (1519 m), Bunaya (1572 m) and Bogdan (1604 m) jutting up. Its northern slopes are steeper and less indented than the southern, which have stair-like appearance. It is divided in two by the Koprivshtitsa valley extension, where the Topolnitsa and Strelchanska Luda Yana rivers originate. Forests cover about 65% of the site’s territory. The broadleaved ones prevail. In the higher northern parts these are old beech Fagus sylvatica forest and in the lower, southern ones – coppice oak. The coniferous plantations are mainly of Austrian Pine Pinus nigra. The open grasslands, pastures and shrub associations also occupy a big share of the territory. Farmland covers about 10% of its total area.
Birds:
Sredna Gora is representative complex of mosaic habitats, which are transitional between the high mountains (Central Balkan) and the lowlands (Thracian Plain), which determine very diverse ornithofauna. It supports 144 bird species, 24 of which are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). Of the birds occurring there 56 species are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004), 3 of them being listed in category SPEC 1 as globally threatened, 20 in SPEC 2 and 33 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. The area provides suitable habitats for 40 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 35 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. The globally threatened Imperial Eagle /Aquila heliaca/ breeds in Sredna Gora, and the Lesser Kestrel /Falco naumanni/ bred in the area several years ago. The region was one of the breeding grounds for the Saker Falcon Falco cherrug. Sredna gora is one of the two places where Ural Owl Strix uralensis breeds in Bulgaria. It is among the most valuable areas in the country on the level of EU statistical regions for this species, as well as for the Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina, Hazel Grouse Bonasa bonasia, Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, European Roller Coracias garrulus, White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos, Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana, Lesser Grey Shrike Lanius minor, Woodlark Lullula arborea and the Red-breasted Flycatcher Ficedula parva. The other threatened species, listed in Annex I of the Bird Directive, which breed in the region also have representative populations. It supports considerable breeding populations on European scale of the European Robin Erithacus rubecula, the Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, the Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla, the European Green Woodpecker Picus viridis, Song Thrush Turdus philomelos, the Common Blackbird Turdus merula.
Threats:
The bigger part of Sredna Gora is easy accessible for people, because of its low altitude, existence of settlements and the relevant road infrastructure, as well as the well-developed system of forest roads. The habitats in the area are particularly sensitive to forestry and agriculture activities, but also to water management and tourism. The main threats to forest habitats are the intensive forestry in the old broadleaved forests, afforestation with non-indigenous species – especially Austrian Pine Pinus nigra, forest fires, the forest grazing, as well as the soil erosion caused by inappropriate forest management. The pastures within the forests are subject to plugging and gradual afforestation. Grazing is carried out on the pastures close to the villages. Pastures further away from settlements are not used completely because of the smaller number of animals today compared with the past. This together with the high level of emigration of people from the region cause abandonment of the land and rapid succession of the grasslands. The cutting of trees along the mountain rivers, as well as the building of micro-water power stations disturb the overall water regime and affect the significant part of habitats in Sredna Gora. Extraction of inert materials degrades the habitats in one locality in the vicinity to the southern border of the site. The general threats to birds are the reduction in the food resource in the region, because of the reasons described above, as well as the fragmentation and change of habitats. Direct threats to birds are caused by poaching (taking chicks and eggs from the nests, shooting of raptors and owls, using of traps), rock climbing and off road traffic of motor vehicles, etc.
Legal protection:
Only about 2% of territory of Sredna Gora is under legal protection according to the national nature conservation legislation. Fifteen protected areas and 11 natural monuments are designated mainly to protect the landscapes. Only one of them was designated to protect the the Saker Falcon. The only maintained reserve in the region – “Bogdan” was designated in 1972 to protect the old beech forest. About 22% of the site is covered by the “Sredna Gora” 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 also as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
