Читать книгу Walking in Bulgaria's National Parks. Pirin, Rila and Central Balkans National Parks онлайн

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Between about 800m and 1600m, on both sides of the ridge, it is beech forests that dominate the national park, covering over 40 per cent of its total area. Indeed, about 70 per cent of all trees growing within the national park are beech (Fagus sylvatica), and these have an average age of 135 years. Not only do they play a fundamental role in terms of local climate, hydrology and biodiversity, they also make up the most extensive and least degraded block of beech forest in Europe. Within this zone one also frequently finds examples of sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Balkan maple (Acer heldreichii), Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and silver fir (Abies alba), as well as the occasional common ash (Fraxinus excelsior), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and hazel (Corylus avellana).

Within the Central Balkan national park, coniferous forests are highly fragmented and do not form a distinct zone as they do in the Rila and Pirin mountains. Isolated blocks of Norway spruce (Picea abies) are found in and around the Boatin, Tsarichina, Stara Reka and Dzhendema reserves, with the average age of trees being 120 years. Of particular interest is the occurrence of Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce) within the national park. Not only is the region of the Tsarichina Reserve the sole location of this Balkan endemic species in the Stara Planina, it also represents the most extreme northerly outpost of its worldwide geographical distribution.