Stara Reka ( bg, Стара река, meaning ''Old river'') is one of the nine nature reserves in the
Central Balkan National Park
The Central Balkan National Park ( bg, Национален парк Централен Балкан) lies in the heart of Bulgaria, nestled in the central and higher portions of the Balkan Mountains. Its altitude varies from 550 m. near the town ...
in central
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
Stara Reka was established on 19 March 1981 to protect the unique ecosystems of the
Balkan Mountains.
It spans an area of 1974.7 hectares, or 19.747km
2.
Geography
The reserve is situated a few kilometres to the north of the town of
Karlovo
Karlovo ( bg, Карлово ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a ...
in the northern section of
Plovdiv Province
Plovdiv Province ( bg, Област Пловдив: ''Oblast Plovdiv'', former name Plovdiv okrug) is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, ''obshtini'', sing. общинa, ''obshtina'') on a ter ...
. It covers the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains sprawling from
Levski Peak (2166 m) and Golyam Kupen Peak (2169 m) on the main ridge of the mountain range south along the valley of Stara Reka river and its tributaries.
The altitude of the reserve varies between 1000 and 2169 m. The southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains have a milder climate with a snow cover lasting for an average of 120 days annually. The soil types are diverse ranging from mountain meadow soils in the highest areas to brown forest and cinnamon soils at lower altitudes.
Flora
The forest habitats in Stara Reka Reserve usually include four to five tree species. The lowest parts of the reserve are covered by sessile oak (''
Quercus petraea
''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial embl ...
''), European beech (''
Fagus sylvatica
''Fagus sylvatica'', the European beech or common beech is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech family Fagaceae.
Description
''Fagus sylvatica'' is a large tree, capable of reaching heights of up to tall and trunk diameter, though more ...
''), South European flowering ash (''
Fraxinus ornus''), European hop-hornbeam (''
Ostrya carpinifolia
''Ostrya carpinifolia'', the European hop-hornbeam, is a tree in the family Betulaceae. It is the only species of the genus ''Ostrya'' that is native to Europe.
The specific epithet ''carpinifolia'' means "hornbeam-leaved", from , the Latin word ...
'') and Oriental hornbeam (''
Carpinus orientalis
''Carpinus orientalis'', known as the Oriental hornbeam, is a hornbeam native to Hungary, the Balkans, Italy, Crimea, Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus. and occurs usually on hot dry sites at lower altitudes in comparison to the ''Carpinus betulus' ...
''). Mixed beech and fir forests along with field maple (''
Acer campestre
''Acer campestre'', known as the field maple, is a flowering plant species in the family Sapindaceae. It is native to much of continental Europe, Britain, southwest Asia from Turkey to the Caucasus, and north Africa in the Atlas Mountains. It has ...
''), Heldreich's maple (''
Acer heldreichii
''Acer heldreichii'' is a species of maple in the flowering plant family Sapindaceae. Commonly called Balkan maple, Greek maple, Heldreich's maple, or mountain maple the species is native to the Balkan Peninsula east along the southern and easte ...
'') and silver birch (''
Betula pendula
''Betula pendula'', commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe, it is only found ...
'') grow at higher altitudes. Forests of Norway spruce (''
Picea abies
''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very close ...
'') grow at the highest altitudes.
The reserve is rich in rare species. 45 species are listed in the Red Book of Bulgaria, of them 20 are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the country, such as ''
Primula frondosa
''Primula frondosa'', the leafy primrose ( bg, Старопланинска иглика), is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to the Balkans. It inhabits shady spots in a small region of the central Balkan Mountain ...
'', ''
Centaurea kerneriana'', ''
Campanula trojanensis'', ''
Stachys alpina'', etc.
Fauna
Stara Reka Reserve contains the westernmost population of
chamois along the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains. It is also an important sanctuary for the
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is ...
,
gray wolf,
wildcat
The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...
,
European pine marten
The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. ...
and
Eurasian otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...
.
The avifauna is represented by many species of
birds of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...
such as
Eastern imperial eagle
The eastern imperial eagle (''Aquila heliaca'') is a large bird of prey that breeds in southeastern Europe and extensively through West and Central Asia. Most populations are migratory and winter in northeastern Africa, the Middle East and South ...
,
golden eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...
,
booted eagle,
long-legged buzzard
The long-legged buzzard (''Buteo rufinus'') is a bird of prey found widely in several parts of Eurasia and in North Africa. This species ranges from Southeastern Europe down to East Africa to the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. The long ...
,
European honey buzzard
The European honey buzzard (''Pernis apivorus''), also known as the pern or common pern, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
Etymology
Despite its English name, this species is more closely related to kites of the genera '' Leptodon'' a ...
,
northern goshawk,
Eurasian sparrowhawk,
saker falcon
The saker falcon (''Falco cherrug'') is a large species of falcon. This species breeds from central Europe eastwards across the Palearctic to Manchuria. It is mainly migratory except in the southernmost parts of its range, wintering in Ethiopia ...
,
Peregrine falcon and
Eurasian eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (''Bubo bubo'') is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the Uhu and it is occasionally abbreviated to just the eagle-owl in Europe. It is one of the largest species of owl, and femal ...
. Other birds of conservation importance are
hazel grouse
The hazel grouse (''Tetrastes bonasia''), sometimes called the hazel hen, is one of the smaller members of the grouse family of birds. It is a sedentary species, breeding across the Palearctic as far east as Hokkaido, and as far west as eastern a ...
,
white-backed woodpecker
The white-backed woodpecker (''Dendrocopos leucotos'') is a Eurasian woodpecker belonging to the genus ''Dendrocopos''.
Taxonomy
The white-backed woodpecker was described by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1802 under the ...
,
black woodpecker, etc.
Gallery
File:Стара река 2015 02.jpg,
File:Stara Reka Reserve 2015.jpg,
File:Зелена прохлада.JPG,
File:Непоклатимо спокойствие.JPG,
File:Стара река, сенки.jpg,
References
External links
*
*
{{Karlovo
Biosphere reserves of Bulgaria
Nature reserves in Bulgaria
Balkan mountains
Geography of Plovdiv Province
Tourist attractions in Plovdiv Province
Protected areas established in 1981
1981 establishments in Bulgaria