12 publications from this institution
by the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (IBER) at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).With the main topic of "Connecting science and conservation for grassland sustainability", we aim to highlight the connection of studies on grassland ecosystems with management practices and conservation goals.
Coastal dunes (CD) are dynamic environments shaped by sediment accumulation, sea breeze and vegetation cover, which are also highly sensitive to human intervention. The urbanization of coastal areas, global warming and rising sea levels pose significant threats to CD systems, leading to erosion and habitat loss. In the past decade, the total CD area in Bulgaria has decreased by over 12 hectares, resulting in the complete loss of five dune systems. Over 5% of the CDs along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (BBSC) face similar challenges, primarily due to human-induced pressure and alterations in dune landforms. This study introduces a Standard Dune Mapping Procedure (SDMP) for the BBSC based on geospatial data of dune habitats, facilitating the cadastral maps and registers and effective conservation and management activities. The proposed methodology, developed through the collaboration of the Ministry of Environment and Water of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Institute of Oceanology and the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, is a multidisciplinary approach that integrates remote sensing, geomorphological, geological and phytocoenological surveys and habitat analysis in GIS environment. The procedure involves seven stages: initial inventory and data collection to processing, classification, and high-resolution mapping of coastal dune habitats. The SDMP aims to support sustainable management and conservation of CD ecosystems by emphasizing low-cost, non-intrusive remote sensing techniques. A pilot application on the “Kavatsi” CD system (Sozopol Municipality, Burgas District) validates the SDMP’s effectiveness in addressing the challenges of dune maintenance and anthropogenic impact. This comprehensive approach ensures accurate data collection and supports the development of sustainable management practices for CD ecosystems. The proposed procedure offers a significant step forward to the systematic mapping of CD habitats, responding to the urgent need for effective conservation strategies in the face of significant degradation due to human activities. The SDMP thus plays a crucial role in the sustainable management and conservation of the Bulgarian Black Sea CDs.
The growing human population's demand for food and organic materials has a severe impact on the environment as conventional agriculture expands, destroying habitats and wildlife. This highlights the need to balance provision security with biodiversity conservation through new agricultural practices. This study investigates how different agricultural practices affect the plant diversity found in rose fields located in Kazanlak region, Bulgaria. We compared conventional and organic farming methods, while also looking at how the management of spaces between the rose rows by mowing or ploughing affects their plant diversity. Our results show that mowing management, as opposed to ploughing, leads to greater plant diversity and a higher vegetation total cover. Additionally, organic farming practices combined with mowing management were found to support plant communities with higher diversity, compared to conventional farming under mowing. We conclude that organic farming combined with mowing management is the most beneficial practice for promoting plant diversity in Bulgarian rose fields.
The aim of this study was to identify how far the different dune types from one of the largest dune complexes at the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast are affected
Coastal dunes are valuable and vulnerable habitats that require scientific exploration and understanding of their natural processes; therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the current vegetation characteristics of dune habitats along the Bulgarian Coast in terms of species richness and cover of typical psammophytes and different non-psammophytic plant groups, and to analyze how they respond to certain environmental drivers. Data were collected from 12 dune systems. The research was focused on embryonic, white and grey dunes. The field work was conducted throughout July and August 2017. The vegetation was sampled at 154 phytosociological plots (5 m × 5 m). To understand how the vegetation responds to different drivers, we tested the correlation of defined species group richness and cover in relation to (1) the soil pH and EC values, (2) the distance from inland to the sea and (3) the range of different categories of land cover in the surrounding area. In order to track temporal vegetation changes, we compared the cover of defined species groups between 2003 and 2017. We registered a total number of 269 vascular plants, 12 bryophytes and 5 lichens. The strongest presence in all dune types, both in species richness and cover, was the group of grass- and shrubland plants. Weeds and ruderal plants had significant coverage in grey dunes, while the richness and cover of forest and alien plants were negligible among the studied dune habitats. The comparison of data between 2003 and 2017 revealed a substantial decline in the cover of psammophytes. We observed a clear pattern regarding the share of species richness of psammophytes and non-psammophytes among different locations. We detected that grey dunes were the most affected by the penetration of non-psammophytes.
The aim of this study was to extend the knowledge on the floristic diversity, vegetation, ecology and threats of habitat 2340 *Pannonic inland dunes in Bul
This study is the first overview of the floristic diversity of Bulgarian coastal dunes in terms of the presence of typical psammophytic or non-psammophytic plant species. It also aims to reveal changes in sand dune flora over time, based on own samples and existing data from previous studies. Our original floristic data was extracted from 154 phytosociological plots sampled in 12 large dune systems during 2017. All available literature sources were compiled to derive a list of vascular plants recorded for Bulgarian coastal dunes between 1905 and 2016. Due to the different scientific approaches applied in previous publications we split the studies into three periods over time: (I period: 1905 1950; II period: 1951–1990; III period: 1991–2016), and separate lists were also prepared for each. All vascular plants were assigned to one of five groups, according to their general habitat preference: 1) psammophytes, 2) weeds and ruderals, 3) grass- and shrubland plants, 4) forests plants and 5) alien (including invasive) species. The full species list comprises 501 taxa, and the highest number of species was compiled from publications after 1990. Across all periods and studied dune complexes, grass- and shrubland plants were most abundant, while other non-psammophyte species groups showed low presence. A comparison of data from 2003 and 2015 showed that species richness of psammophytes decreased over time, which is in contrast to the average number of weeds and ruderals, and particularly to species richness of grass- and shrubland species. Our results show that a core group of characteristic psammophytes remains constant through all study periods. Alien (including invasive) species still are limited in abundance but there is an alarming recent increase in their numbers. We believe that our synthesis will be of use for further floristic inventories of Pontic sand dunes.
Coastal dune systems are dynamic and vulnerable landforms that provide key ecological, geomorphological and protective functions along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Despite their importance, their conservation status remains insufficiently quantified, particularly under the microtidal and fetch-limited conditions characteristic of the Black Sea. This study introduces the Eco-Geomorphological Dune Value Index (EGDVI), a multi-criteria assessment framework integrating 31 indicators across eight thematic categories, encompassing geomorphological, ecological, anthropogenic, legal and scientific dimensions. Unlike existing dune assessment approaches, the EGDVI combines these components within a single weighted and standardised scoring system, enabling a comprehensive and policy-relevant evaluation of dune systems. Indicator scores are derived from field surveys, high-resolution remote sensing data, GIS analysis and legislative sources and are weighted through structured expert elicitation. The EGDVI was applied to 16 dune systems along the Strandzha sector of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. Total scores range from 154.0 to 364.5 (maximum 400), defining five classes of eco-geomorphological value. Four systems (25.0%) are classified as Very High Value (Class A), one (6.25%) as High Value (Class B), eight (50.0%) as Moderate Value (Class C), one (6.25%) as Low Value (Class D) and two (12.5%) as Degraded (Class E). At the regional scale, the mean EGDVI score (266.1) falls within the moderate-value class, indicating that transitional dune systems dominate along the Strandzha coast. The results demonstrate that the EGDVI provides a robust, transparent and reproducible framework for assessing both condition and conservation value. By explicitly incorporating governance and scientific dimensions alongside eco-geomorphological parameters, the index strengthens the science–policy interface and supports conservation prioritisation. The conceptual structure of the EGDVI is transferable to other microtidal and enclosed-sea coastal environments, provided that indicators are locally calibrated.
As a distinctive component of the cultural landscape in Eurasia, burial mounds are well known for their historical value. Recently their role as biodiversity hotspots, especially in the homogenous agricultural landscape, has become particularly important. Archaeological excavations, although necessary, are destructive to the natural elements on the mounds. Restoration and vegetation recovery after such disturbances are needed for the preservation of biodiversity and for the cultural landscape integrity. In this study, we aimed to find out how effective is the natural vegetation recovery on the mounds after archaeological excavations. Successional stages between 2- and 30-years post-excavations have been studied. Vegetation sampling was performed on 15 mounds within 300 plots (1 × 1 m). Spontaneous succession was found to start immediately, and during the first decade, anthropophytes prevailed. In the subsequent years, their cover significantly decreased at the expense of species typical for the natural communities in the surroundings. Total species richness increased with the successional age and the vegetation composition became more similar to the semi-natural communities commonly established on mounds in Bulgaria. In the advanced successional stages, we registered a high rate of heterogeneity on the mounds, facilitated by the establishment of target plant species with different ecological requirements, including bryophytes. Provided the obtained results, we conclude that the natural vegetation recovery on the excavated and subsequently recovered mounds were very successful, and the current practice must continue in the future.
A rare species, endemic to the European part of Turkey: Centaurea kilaea Boiss., was found on the dunes at Veleka River Mouth, Southern Black Sea Coast, Bulgaria. This newly found population is a small one - comprising of 43 individuals, participating in the species composition of typical psammophytic vegetation (white dunes). The proximity of the beach at Igneada in Turkey has probably allowed spontaneous dispersal (by wind or maybe ants or seabirds) to the Bulgarian territory. The very limited size and small number of the population, as well as the high dynamics of the coastal strip in this area, call into question its long-term existence in Bulgaria.
This work represents the first study of the floristic diversity on Bulgaria's ancient mounds. The objective of this research was to assess the importance of the mounds for the preservation of the native vascular and cryptogam flora. Our sampling design included 111 ancient mounds distributed throughout the country. We recorded a total of 1059 vascular plants, 58 bryophytes and 61 lichen taxa. Despite their small area, the mounds were shown to preserve nearly a quarter of the Bulgarian flora. The vegetation cover on the mounds included 61% perennials indicating a long-term persistence and stability. The majority (98%) of the established vascular plants were native species. Although the conservation significance of the vascular plant species were not common, we recorded 2 critically endangered, 9 endangered and 14 Balkan endemics during the present study. The lichen Arthopyrenia salicis was recorded for the first time in Bulgaria and a new locality of the rare bryophyte Ceratodon conicus was discovered. The established compositional difference between plots from the northern and southern slopes of the mounds (88.95%) is a testament to the high local habitat diversity. The prevalence of species characteristic for Festuco-Brometea suggests that the mounds preserve fragments of native grasslands and steppes. The variation in cover of agricultural and other human modified areas in the mounds' immediate surroundings did not substantially affect their species richness. We argue that the ancient mounds should be taken into consideration in future green space planning.
