Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
level of rivers or even the complete drying up of entire sections of them. This has a
negative impact on habitats of hydrophilic plants, of the invertebrate organisms
dependent on them, on amphibians, some kinds of reptiles, birds and mammals.
A report by the International Program for Climate Control (IPCC, 1990) outlines a
long-term climatic forecast of extremely high accuracy and veracity. In this context,
the following trends should be noted: a global tendency towards drier climate,
amounting to a 3-5% annual drop in air humidity (5-8% in real terms), due to an
average annual rise in temperatures by 0.5ºC.
During the period 2000-2030, the aggregate warming up of the European continent
will reach somewhere between 2 and 3ºC, causing a 15 to 25% drop in topsoil
moisture in the summer season. It is not impossible that the cumulative effect of local
and global drought could cause a 30% decrease in summer soil moisture content in
the Park territory. Such a drastic, long-term drought will go way beyond the
compensation potential of the complex of mountainous ecosystems in Rila Mountain
and the Nature Park.
Significance: insufficiently studied, potentially high
Changes in the number of grazing livestock
Grazing and the herding of horses, cows or sheep, as well as the lighting of fires and
haymaking related to animal husbandry, have a many-sided impact on the Park’s
territory. Overgrazing, as observed in the areas of Kalin, Dobro Pole, Rizvanitsa,
Bukovo Bardo, and Tiha Rila, causes compacting of the topsoil, changes in the rooted
vegetation, as well as in the composition of fungous communities. There is an
abandoned sheep-pen in the vicinity of Kalin, where the community of Alopecurus
riloensis is highly ruderalized. In the area of Kobilino Branishte considerable plots of
land are invaded by Monk’s Rhubarb (Rumex alpinus). The process of regeneration of
the original structure and composition of the higher flora is difficult and protracted.
Due to the fact that herds are concentrated in specific places, instances of topsoil
erosion have been recorded in the area around Kalin Dam; in principle, the threat is
more pronounced for the more sensitive and vulnerable sub-alpine and alpine portions
of the Park.
On the whole, there is a considerable decrease in the herds of sheep, cattle and horses
grazing throughout the Park, compared with the early decades of the 20 th century,
which is paralleled by a decline in the numbers of wild grazing animals. The resultant
undergrazing, in turn, has its own negative impact on some succession processes and
may be one of the reasons for the Chamaecytisus absinthiodes invasion. Insufficient
grazing also affects the populations of some insects and amphibians. This factor may
also be seen as one of the reasons for the decline or disappearance of some of the
species of vultures in the Park (bearded vulture, black vulture, gryphon vulture).
Significance: medium, high for some areas
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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