Pirin National Park

Pirin National Park (), originally named Vihren National Park, covering the larger part of the Pirin Mountains in southwestern Bulgaria, spanning an area of .

It is one of the three national parks in the country, the others being Rila National Park and Central Balkan National Park. The park was established in 1962 and its territory was expanded several times since then. Pirin National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. The elevation varies from to at Vihren, Bulgaria's second highest summit and the Balkans' third.

The park is situated in Blagoevgrad Province, the nation's southwesternmost region, on the territory of seven municipalities: Bansko, Gotse Delchev, Kresna, Razlog, Sandanski, Simitli, and Strumyani. There are no populated places within its territory. Two nature reserves are located within the boundaries of Pirin National Park: Bayuvi Dupki–Dzhindzhiritsa and Yulen. Bayuvi Dupki–Dzhindzhiritsa is among the oldest in Bulgaria, established in 1934 and is included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme. The whole territory is part of the network of nature protection areas of the European Union, Natura 2000.

Pirin is renowned for its 118 glacial lakes, the largest and the deepest of them being Popovo Lake. Many of them are situated in cirques. There are also a few small glaciers, such Snezhnika, located in the deep Golemiya Kazan cirque at the steep northern foot of Vihren, and Banski Suhodol. They are the southernmost glaciers in Europe.

Pirin National Park falls within the Rodope montane mixed forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forest. Forests cover 57.3 percent of the parks area and almost 95 percent of them are coniferous forests. The average age of the forests is 85 years. Bulgaria's oldest tree, Baikushev's pine, is located in the park. With an approximate age of about 1,300 years, it is a contemporary of the foundation of the Bulgarian state in 681 CE. The fauna of the Pirin National Park is diverse and includes 45 species of mammals, 159 species of birds, 11 species of reptiles, 8 species of amphibia, and 6 species of fish.

History and park administration

Pirin National Park was established on 18 November 1962 in order to preserve the natural ecosystems and landscapes along with their plant and animal communities and habitats. Originally named Vihren National Park, the protected area initially covered 67.36 km2. Its territory was expanded several times until it reached its current area of 403.56 km2 in 1999. In 1983, Pirin National Park was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as an area of outstanding natural importance. By the Constitution of Bulgaria, the park is exclusively state-owned.

According to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature the park falls within management category II (national park) with main objective protecting functioning ecosystems while allowing human visitation and its supporting infrastructure. The entire territory of the park is included in the European Union network of nature protection areas Natura 2000. Pirin National Park is listed as an important bird and biodiversity area by BirdLife International.

Pirin National Park is managed by a directorate subordinated to the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria based in the town of Bansko at the northern foothills of the mountain. As of 2004, the park administration had 92 employees. There are two visitor and information centres located in Bansko and Sandanski. The park is divided in six sectors: Bayuvi Dupki with office in Razlog, Vihren with office in Bansko, Bezbog with office in Dobrinishte, Trite Reki and Kamenitsa, both with office in Sandanski, and Sinanitsa with office in Kresna.

Geography

Overview

thumb|right|alt=a conifer-covered mountain with a bare, rounded top|Dautov Vrah in summer

Pirin National Park encompasses much of the homonymous mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, which forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Massif. To the north it is divided from the Rila mountain range by the Predel Saddle and mountain pass at 1140 m elevation, to the east reaches the valley of the river Mesta, including the Razlog Valley, to the south the Paril Saddle (1170 m) forms the border with the Slavyanka mountain range, and to the west reaches the valley of the river Struma. The park is situated entirely in Blagoevgrad Province in the municipalities of Bansko (36.6% of the park's territory), Gotse Delchev (4.9%), Kresna (14.9%), Razlog (10.2%), Sandanski (30.7%), Simitli (2.3%) and Strumyani (0.4%).

Relief and geology

The tectonics of the Pirin is primarily the result of Precambrian, Hercynian, alpine and tectonic movements and events. The modern relief of Pirin was shaped in the Pleistocene (2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago) when the mountain was subjected to alpine glaciation related to the global cooling. This glaciation passed in parallel with that of the Alps. The limits of the glaciers reached 2200–2300 m. All glacial forms in the mountain range are within the borders of Pirin National Park. The southern zone consists of granite ridges and includes Pirin's fourth highest summit Polezhan, at 2851 m. There are more around 60 summits above 2600 m. Nearly 60% of the park's area is situated above 2000 m. The distribution of the territory of the park by elevation is as follows: up to 1000 m – 1.64 km2 (0.4%), 1000–1600 m – 51.09 km2 (12.7%); 1600–2000 m – 121.08 km2 (30.0%); 2000–2500 m – 198.31 km2 (49.1%); above 2500 m – 31.45 km2 (7.8%).

Geologically Pirin is a massive anticline formed by metamorphic rocks — gneiss, biotite and crystalline schists, amphibolite, quartzite and marble. Paleozoic granitoid rocks are found in restricted areas in the outskirts of Pirin National Park. Granitoid rocks from the Upper Cretaceous form two distinct plutons: Northern Pirin and Bezbog. The Central Pirin pluton covers the southern reaches of the park and is dated to the Upper Oligocene. The granitoid rocks cover 55% of the park's territory. The relief has a crucial influence on the climate. Pirin has three elevation climate zones — low between 600 and 1000 m (16% of the total area), middle between 1000 and 1800 m (40%) and high above 1800 m (44%). In winter the precipitation is mainly snow, varying from 70–90% at the lower elevations to 100% at higher. The average number of days with snow cover varies from 20–30 to 120–160. The highest thickness of the snow cover reaches 40–60 cm at 1000–1800 m in February and 160–180 cm above 1800 m in March (190 cm on Vihren).

Hydrology

thumb|right|alt=A glacial lake and a mountain summit|Muratovo Lake and [[Todorka Summit]]

thumb|right|alt=A glacial lake and a mountain summit|Kamenitsa Summit from Tevnoto Lake

The territory of Pirin National Park is almost equally divided between the basins of the rivers Struma (206.06 km2 or 51.1%) and Mesta (197.50 km2 or 48.9%). The watershed follows the main ridge of the mountain in direction north-west to south-east. Pirin is the source of 10 tributaries to the Struma, the largest one being Sandanska Bistritsa, and another 10 to the Mesta. The rivers are short, steep and with high water volume. They form numerous waterfalls which are generally not as high as those in Rila or the Balkan Mountains. The highest one is Popinolashki waterfall, measuring some 12 m. The average annual discharge of the park's rivers is 355,6 million m3, of them 188,5 million m3 flow to the Struma and 167,1 million m3 to the Mesta. Banski Suhodol Glacier is larger and situated a bit to the north below Koncheto Ridge.

Biology

Ecosystems and forests

thumb|alt=a forest in Pirin|A [[Abies borisii-regis|Bulgarian fir in Pirin]]

Pirin National Park falls within the Rodope montane mixed forests terrestrial ecoregion of the Palearctic temperate broadleaf and mixed forest. The plant communities in the park can be classified into several main groups: communities found around bodies of water; bush communities of the subalpine zone; grasslands, including meadows, subalpine and alpine pastures; forest communities; rock communities; and communities of secondary character, which are a result of human activity.

Forests cover 231.10 km2 or 57.3% of the park's total area. Of them 95% are coniferous forests and 5% are deciduous forests. The mean age of the forest is 85 year. Around 34.3% of the wooded territory is covered with trees above 140 years. The varied relief creates various ecological environments for plants, further diversified by the dominant rock types which form siliceous and calcareous terrain on the territory of the park. Lakes and streams also diversify the conditions creating wetland habitats for hygrophyte species.

Non-vascular plants constitute the least researched part of Pirin's flora.

The vascular plants in Pirin National Park include 1315 species of 94 families and 484 genera, or approximately 1/3 of Bulgaria's flora. The flora has largely preserved its indigenous character. The species are divided almost equally to representatives of the sub-Mediterranean and Circumboreal floristic regions. The distribution of the mammalian species by order is as follows: Insectivora – 5, Chiroptera – 16, Lagomorpha – 3, Rodentia – 7, Carnivora – 9 and Artiodactyla – 4. Among the species of highest conservation value are brown bear, gray wolf, wildcat, European pine marten, wild boar, red deer, roe deer and Balkan chamois. The small mammals, especially rodents and bats, are not fully studied in the whole territory of the park.

The total number of bird species is 159. Of them 91, or 57%, are passerine. Three species are relict — boreal owl, white-backed woodpecker and Eurasian three-toed woodpecker. booted eagle, golden eagle with 2 to 5 pairs, saker falcon, peregrine falcon with three pairs,

There are 11 reptile and 8 amphibian species. There are Central European species (fire salamander, yellow-bellied toad, smooth snake), Palearctic (common toad, European green toad, common frog), Euro-Siberian (European tree frog, common European viper, grass snake, viviparous lizard), Irano-Turanian (marsh frog), Southern European (agile frog), Euro-Mediterranean (European green lizard), Mediterranean (common wall lizard) and Balkan (Erhard's wall lizard).

thumb|left|alt=a view of Pirin|A typical habitat in Pirin

The ichthyofauna includes 6 fish species: common minnow, European eel (considered extinct), western vairone, brown trout, rainbow trout and brook trout. The limited number of species is determined by the high elevation of the park. The glacial lakes, streams and upper river courses are inhabited by few fish species. The western vairone is known only from the Kremenski lakes and might in fact represent a new undescribed species.

The number of identified invertebrate species in Pirin National Park is 2091, which is 40% of the estimated 4500 species to inhabit the park. They are poorly researched and there is not enough data to assess the qualitative and quantitative parameters even of the main populations of endemic and relict species. There are 36 species of Myriapoda, or 20% of Bulgaria's total. They are distributed mainly in the forests and are less frequent in the sub-Alpine and the Alpine zones. Only 2% of Bulgaria's Ephemeroptera are found in the park — two species. As of 2002 on the territory of the park there were 1837 beds, including 885 in mountain refuges, 214 in hotels, 124 in bungalows and 615 in premises belonging to different departments of the state administration. Some of the refuges include Bezbog, the largest and most modern one; Banderitsa, constructed in 1915 by order of Tsar Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, and Vihren.

There are 20 marked hiking trails in the park. The protests were supported by Ska Keller who is vice-president of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament. In November 2017, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other local NGOs filed a lawsuit against the Bulgarian Ministry of the Environment and Water as they deemed that plans for development of the area violated environmental regulations.

Pirin National Park

History and park administration

Geography

Overview

Relief and geology

Hydrology

Biology

Ecosystems and forests

See also

Citations

Sources

References

External links