State: BlagoevgradArea: 19446,67 ха
Ownership: state - 57%; municipality - 34%; private - 9%;
Description:
Slavyanka is located in south-western Bulgaria, to the south of the Pirin Mountain. The site limits follow the orographic limits of the Slavyanka Mountain, but the area also includes a part of the southern Pirin to the north of the Goleshevska river and some of the western slopes of the Sturgach Mountain. To the north the site’s border passes south of the villages Sadovo, Teshovo and Goleshovo, to the east it coincides with the road from Sadovo to the border check point of Ilinden and to the west it reaches the village of Petrovo. The state border with Greece limits the site to the south. The highest pik of the mountain is Gotsev Vrah (2242 m.). Slavyanka Mountain is built of proterozoic metamorphous limestones and marbles, which is the reason for the karst mountain terrain. Because of the karst, it is poor in surface flowing waters, but in its foot there are numerous karst springs. This geological peculiarity of the mountain, its geographic location and climate create conditions for the development of specific nature with both mountain and Mediterranean elements. Almost all phyto-geographic belts can be distinguished in the Slavyanka that are typical for Bulgaria. In the footpills of the mountain the xerothermal oak bealt is represented mainly by secondary forests, as well as Carpinus orientalis shrubs. In the higher parts there are forests of Fagus moesiaca and Ostrya carpinifolia, as wll as large forests of Pinus nigra. There are also communities of Abies borisii-regis. Forests of Bosnian Pine Pinus heldreichii, which are typical for the limestone mountains in Southern and Western Balkan Peninsula, predominate in the coniferous belt. The number of Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean species of the invertebrate and vertebrate fauna is also great.
Birds:
Because the diversity of habitats the region of Slavyanka is characterized by diversity of birds species including those typical for high mountains and lowland habitats with Mediterranean influence. It supports 134 bird species, 53 of which are of European conservation concern (SPEC) (BirdLife International, 2004). One of them, the Corncrake Crex crex, which occurs in the low parts of the mountain, is listed in category SPEC 1 (globally threatened species), 19 species are listed in SPEC 2 and 33 in SPEC 3 as species threatened in Europe. Twenty-one of the bird species, which occur there, are listed in the Red Data Book for Bulgaria (1985). The area provides suitable habitats for 41 species, included in Annex 2 of the Biodiversity Act, which need special conservation measures, of which 33 are listed also in Annex I of the Birds Directive. Slavyanka is one of the most important sites in the country for the Calandra Lark Melanocorhypha calandra), the Tengmalm`s Owl Aegolius funereus and the Capercaillie /Tetrao urogallus/, which breed there in considerable numbers. The Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum and the Woodlark Lullula arborea occur in the region with representative breeding populations. The globally threatened Corncrake Crex crex also breeds there in small numbers.
Threats:
The region of Slavyanka is low populated. It is sensitive to the human activities related to forestry, agriculture, water management and unsustainable exploitation of nature resources. There is no any activities allowed in the forests if “Ali Botush” Reserve, but the control on the implementation of the regime is unsufficient. Out of the protected area intensive forestry is going on, including clear cutting. The removal of dead trees or those with holes limits the possibilities of woodpeckers and owls to find food or suitable nesting ground. The riverine forests along the rivers in the lowland areas are gradually cut down which could cause complete loss of this habitat and together with the overexploitation of the water for irrigation disturb the water regime there. Amongst the most serious impacts related to agriculture is the removal of the natural vegetation and conversion of grasslands and shrub dominated habitats into arable land, as well as the large scale use of pesticides and fertilizers n the arable lands. Grazing is carried out on the pastures close to the villages and those pastures often are overgrazed. Pastures further away from settlements are not used completely because of the smaller number of animals today compared with the past. This cause abandonment of the land and deterioration of key habitats. Pasture of goats into forest and shrub dominated habitats causes deterioration of these habitats. Direct threats to birds are caused by poaching, taking chicks and eggs from the nests, gliding, hang-gliding, unregulated movement of people, etc. 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 are already built in Greece close to Bulgarian border and cause disturbed movement and fragmentation of the habitats used by the birds of prey in the region. During the recent decade the tourism starts to develop, which could cause negative impact on birds and habitats if the process is not regulated. The development of the infrastructure, including rehabilitation of the road Paril – Goleshevo, passing near the border of the reserve, will increase the anthropogenic pressure to the area.
Legal protection:
The “Ali botush” Reserve was designated in 1951 for protection of forest ecosystems and recognized under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme as biosphere reserve in 1977. The “Pavlyova padina” protected area was designated in 2003 for protection of typical plant communities with presence of Mediterranean and Sub-mediterranean rare and threatened plant species. They both are the only territories with legal protection by the national nature conservation law and cover 8.7% of the site. In 1998 One CORINE Site with the same name, is designated because of its European value for rare and threatened habitats, plant and animal species, including birds. It covers 73% of Slavyanka. In 2005 the site was designated also as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
