6. Peat-bog Begbunar (Osogovo Mountains, south-west Bulgaria): Four millennia of vegetation history
2009; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 48; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00173130902965157
ISSN1651-2049
AutoresMaria Lazarova, Spassimir Tonkov, Ian Snowball, Elena Marinova,
Tópico(s)Lichen and fungal ecology
ResumoThe peat-bog Begbunar (42°09¢ N, 22° 33¢ E; 1750 m a.s.l.) is located in the central treeless zone of the Osogovo mountains, which are situated at the border between south-western Bulgaria and the north-eastern former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. This bog was formed near a freshwater spring on a north-western slope, which continues into a steep, deep ravine where isolated stands of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) exist. The modern mountain vegetation consists of several vegetation belts: the oak-hornbeam belt (up to 1000 m), the compact beech belt (1000 – 1900 m) with fragments of conifers (Pinus nigra J. F. Arnold and Abies alba Mill.) and the subalpine belt, which is occupied by plant communities of Juniperus sibirica Burgsd., Vaccinium myrtillus L., Bruckenthalia spiculifolia (Salisb.) Rchb., Chamaecytisus absinthioides Janka (Kuzm.), Nardus stricta L., and scattered groups of Pinus sylvestris L., etc. The present-day vegetation composition has been strongly influenced by the long-lasting anthropogenic impact, including ore-mining industry and erosion caused by deforestation (Velcev & Tonkov, 1986; Tonkov, 2003). Geologically, the massif is composed mainly of Palaeozoic metamorphic and intrusive rocks, while geomorphological evidence suggests that small valley glaciers existed in the highest parts during Quaternary glaciations. The climate above 1000 m is typical montane with a mean annual precipitation of 700–900 mm. The basic soil types are cinnamomic-forest, brown forest and mountainous-meadow (Velcev et al., 1994).
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