19. Mire Kupena, Western Rhodopes Mountains (South Bulgaria)

Abstract

Site details Mire Kupena is a former lake (41◦ 59′ 07.5′′ N, 24◦ 19′ 05.1′′ E; 1356 m above sea level (a.s.l.)) located on the territory of the Biosphere Reserve Kupena, Western Rhodopes Mountains, Bulgaria. The reserve is located between 600 and 1400 m a.s.l. on a north-facing slope and its vegetation is rather diverse. In the lower parts, the most common plant communities are those of Quercus dalechampii Ten. mixed in some places with Carpinus betulus L., Fagus sylvatica L., Pinus nigra Arn. and Pinus sylvestris L. At higher altitudes, plant communities of F. sylvatica dominate, followed by those of Pinus sylvestris with some Abies alba Mill. and Picea abies (L.) Karst. The mire is formed in a depression on an area of 6 ha, surrounded by an almost pure forest of Pinus sylvestris with an admixture of Picea abies, A. alba, F. sylvatica, Betula pendula Roth., Sorbus aucuparia L., Q. dalechampii and an undergrowth of Juniperus communis L., Vaccinium myrtillus L. and V. vitis-idaea L. The mire vegetation is represented by sparse moss cover (Sphagnum spp.) and includes various species of Carex, Juncus, Potentilla, Ranunculus, Galium. The basin is fed by rainfall and water from melting snow. During the last two decades most of the mire surface on the hummocks has been overgrown by pine trees (Huttunen et al., 1992; Bozilova et al., 2011). The climate in the area is montane with a mean annual temperature of 5–10 ◦S and a mean annual precipitation of 600–800 mm with a maximum in May–June. The basic soil types are brown forest (60%), humic-carbonate and cinnamomic-forest.