For Special Protection Areas (SPA),
Proposed Sites for Community Importance (pSCI),
Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and
for Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. SITE IDENTIFICATION
• 2. SITE LOCATION
• 3. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION
• 4. SITE DESCRIPTION
• 5. SITE PROTECTION STATUS
• 6. SITE MANAGEMENT
• 7. MAP OF THE SITE

1. SITE IDENTIFICATION

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1.1 Type

A

1.2 Site code

BG0002101

1.3 Site name

Meshtitsa

1.4 First Compilation date

2005-10

1.5 Update date

2015-07

1.6 Respondent:

Name/Organisation:	Ministry of Environment and Water, “National Nature Protection Service” Directorate
Address:	Sofia  22    Sofia    1000  Kn. Maria Luiza Blvd.
Email:	natura2000@moew.government.bg

1.7 Site indication and designation / classification dates

Date site classified as SPA:	2007-03
National legal reference of SPA designation	Site classified as SPA by Council of Ministers Decision No. 122/02.03.2007 (promulgated SG 21/2007).

Explanation(s):

Site classified as SPA by Council of Ministers Decision No. 122/02.03.2007 (promulgated SG 21/2007). Issued designation order by the Minister of Environment and Water with prohibitions and restrictions on activities contradicting the conservation objectives of the site – Order No. RD – 809/06.11.2008 (promulgated SG 108/2008).

2. SITE LOCATION

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2.1 Site-centre location [decimal degrees]:

Longitude:	22.982778
Latitude:	42.721944

2.2 Area [ha]

3416.3153

2.3 Marine area [%]

0.0000

2.4 Sitelength [km] (optional):

No information provided

2.5 Administrative region code and name

NUTS level 2 code	Region Name
BG41	Yugozapaden
BG41	Yugozapaden

2.6 Biogeographical Region(s)

Continental

(100.00 %)

3. ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION

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3.1 Habitat types present on the site and assessment for them

No habitat types are reported for the site

3.2 Species referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2009/147/EC and listed in Annex II of Directive 92/43/EEC and site evaluation for them

Species					Population in the site						Site assessment
G	Code	Scientific Name	S	NP	T	Size		Unit	Cat.	D.qual.	A|B|C|D	A|B|C
						Min	Max				Pop.	Con.	Iso.	Glo.
B	A089	Aquila pomarina			r	1	1	p		G	C	B	C	B
B	A403	Buteo rufinus			p	1	1	p		G	C	B	C	B
B	A122	Crex crex			r	7	23	p		G	C	A	C	A
B	A429	Dendrocopos syriacus			p	3	3	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A379	Emberiza hortulana			r	80	90	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A338	Lanius collurio			r	100	110	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A339	Lanius minor			r	10	14	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A246	Lullula arborea			p	5	10	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A242	Melanocorypha calandra			p	5	6	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A072	Pernis apivorus			r	1	1	p		G	C	B	C	B
B	A234	Picus canus			p	4	4	p		G	C	B	C	C
B	A307	Sylvia nisoria			r	25	30	p		G	C	B	C	C

• Group: A = Amphibians, B = Birds, F = Fish, I = Invertebrates, M = Mammals, P = Plants, R = Reptiles
• S: in case that the data on species are sensitive and therefore have to be blocked for any public access enter: yes
• NP: in case that a species is no longer present in the site enter: x (optional)
• Type: p = permanent, r = reproducing, c = concentration, w = wintering (for plant and non-migratory species use permanent)
• Unit: i = individuals, p = pairs or other units according to the Standard list of population units and codes in accordance with Article 12 and 17 reporting (see reference portal)
• Abundance categories (Cat.): C = common, R = rare, V = very rare, P = present - to fill if data are deficient (DD) or in addition to population size information
• Data quality: G = 'Good' (e.g. based on surveys); M = 'Moderate' (e.g. based on partial data with some extrapolation); P = 'Poor' (e.g. rough estimation); VP = 'Very poor' (use this category only, if not even a rough estimation of the population size can be made, in this case the fields for population size can remain empty, but the field "Abundance categories" has to be filled in)

3.3 Other important species of flora and fauna (optional)

Species					Population in the site				Motivation
Group	CODE	Scientific Name	S	NP	Size		Unit	Cat.	Species Annex		Other categories
					Min	Max		C|R|V|P	IV	V	A	B	C	D
B	A247	Alauda arvensis			95	95	p						X
B	A366	Carduelis cannabina			10	10	p						X
B	A363	Carduelis chloris			22	22	p						X
B	A113	Coturnix coturnix			80	80	p						X
B	A359	Fringilla coelebs			130	130	p						X
B	A244	Galerida cristata			15	15	p						X
B	A383	Miliaria calandra			55	55	p						X
B	A329	Parus caeruleus			10	10	p						X
B	A235	Picus viridis			5	5	p						X
B	A276	Saxicola torquata			2	2	p						X
B	A311	Sylvia atricapilla			27	27	p						X
B	A283	Turdus merula			12	12	p						X

• Group: A = Amphibians, B = Birds, F = Fish, Fu = Fungi, I = Invertebrates, L = Lichens, M = Mammals, P = Plants, R = Reptiles
• CODE: for Birds, Annex IV and V species the code as provided in the reference portal should be used in addition to the scientific name
• S: in case that the data on species are sensitive and therefore have to be blocked for any public access enter: yes
• NP: in case that a species is no longer present in the site enter: x (optional)
• Unit: i = individuals, p = pairs or other units according to the standard list of population units and codes in accordance with Article 12 and 17 reporting, (see reference portal)
• Cat.: Abundance categories: C = common, R = rare, V = very rare, P = present
• Motivation categories: IV, V: Annex Species (Habitats Directive), A: National Red List data; B: Endemics; C: International Conventions; D: other reasons

4. SITE DESCRIPTION

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4.1 General site character

Habitat class	% Cover
N06	0.00
N08	4.00
N09	23.00
N10	10.00
N12	48.00
N15	0.00
N16	3.00
N17	3.00
N19	3.00
N21	1.00
N22	2.00
N23	3.00
Total Habitat Cover	100

Other Site Characteristics

Meshtitsa meadows are located in south-western Bulgaria, in the Breznik kettle plain between the towns of Pernik and Breznik. It covers the southern slopes of the Viskyar mountain to the east of the town of Breznik in the region of the villages of Viskyar, Babitsa, Goz and Delyan, and the slightly sloping and flat terrain between the villages of Belkovtsi and Meshitsa. Its western and eastern limits are outlined by the two tributaries of the Konska river. Its north-eastern part is occupied by the Raduyska saddle, separating Viskyar mountain from the neighbouring Ljulin Mountain. The territory includes mainly open grasslands of mesophyte grass formations – meadows overgrown with mesophyle grass communities of Festuca pratensis, Poa sylvicola, Agrostis stolonifera and pastures overgrown with mesoxerothermal and xerotermal grass communities of Festuca valesiaca, F. stojanovii, F. dalmatica, Chrysopogon gryllus, Agrostis capilaris, etc. (Bondev, 1991). Its northern, hillier part is occupied by broadleaved coppice forests and shrubbery. The share of the agricultural lands – arable and abandoned – is also big.

4.2 Quality and importance

Meshtitsa meadows are of global importance for the conservation of the Corncrake Crex crex, which breeds there in numerous population.

4.3 Threats, pressures and activities with impacts on the site

The most important impacts and activities with high effect on the site

4.4 Ownership (optional)

No information provided

4.5 Documentation (optional)

Initial proposal and description of the site made by Dr. Ventseslav Delov - Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Bulgaria, 1111 Sofia, P.O.Box 50, phone (+359 2) 9715855, fax (+359 2) 9715856, www.bspb.org .Data revised by a team of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (http://www.bas.bg).Documents: BDZP/BirdLife Balgariya. 2005. “Nacionalna banka za ornitologichna informacia 1988-2005”, Balgarsko Druzhestvo za zastita na pticite;Bondev, I. 1991. Rastitelnostta na Balgariya. S. Universitetsko izdatelstvo “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”, 183 s.;Iankov, P. 2002.(red.). Svetovno zastrasheni vidove ptici v Bulgaria. Nacionalni planove za dejstvie za opazvaneto im. Chast 1. BDZP-MOSV, Prirodozashtitna poredica, Kn. 4, Sofia: 204-219.Botev, B. and Tz. Peshev, (eds). 1985. Red Data Book of Republic Bulgaria. 2: Animals. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Science. (In Bulgarian.);***. In prep. Development Plan of the Pernik Municipality (2007 – 2013). Draft for discussions. 121 pp. (In Bulgarian);BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, 695pp.Birdlife International. 2004. Birds in Europe: Population estimates, trends and conservation status. Cambridge, UK: Birdlife International (Birdlife Conservation Series No. 12).373pp.;BSPB/BirdLife International. 2005. World Bird Database – Important Birds Areas.Bulgaria. Cambridge. (unpublished);Guidelines for evaluation of protected zones according, which include habitats for birds to art.7, par.3, under the art.6 par.1.3 and 1.4 of the Biodiversity Act. 2005. (In Bulgarian.);Kostadinova, I., M. Mihailov, (comp.) 2002. Guide for NATURA 2000 in Bulgaria. BSPB nature conservation series No5. BSPB, Sofia, 80pp. (In Bulgarian.);Kostadinova, I. 2005. Application of C criteria for Identification of Important Bird Areas of European Union importance in Bulgaria. Preliminarily implementation and analysis of the gaps. – In: Petrova, A. (ed.), Current state of Bulgarian biodiversity – problems and perspectives. Pp. 533-548. Bulgarian Bioplatform, SofiaOsieck, E. 2000 Filling in the requirements of the EU Birds Directive: Lessons from the ‘Dutch Case’“. In: European IBA Workshop. 29 March - 2 April 2000, Brussels, Belgium. Proceedings. BirdLife International, 86-99;Waliczky, Z. 2000 “Important Bird Areas of European Union Importance: explanation of the EU Criteria applied in IBA 2000“ In: European IBA Workshop. 29 March - 2 April 2000, Brussels, Belgium. Proceedings. BirdLife International, 12-16

Link(s):http://natura2000.moew.government.bg/Home/ProtectedSite?code=BG0002101&siteType=BirdsDirective

5. SITE PROTECTION STATUS

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5.1 Designation types at national and regional level (optional):

Code	Cover [%]
BG00	100.00

5.2 Relation of the described site with other sites (optional):

Designated at national or regional level:

Type code	Site name	Type	Cover [%]
	IBA	=	100.00

Designated at international level:

Type	Site name	Type	Cover [%]
Other	IBA	=	100.00

5.3 Site designation (optional)

The area does not have legal protection by the national conservation legislation. In 2005 the area was designated as Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.

6. SITE MANAGEMENT

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6.1 Body(ies) responsible for the site management:

Organisation:	Regional Inspectorates of Environment and Water - Pernik, Sofia; Forestry Departments - Breznik, Radomir, Sofia;
Address:
Email:

6.2 Management Plan(s):

An actual management plan does exist:

X	Yes	Name: Management Plan for SPA BG0002101 Meshtitsa, approved by Order No. RD – 365/28.05.2015 of the Minister of Environment and Water (promulgated SG 45/2015) Link: https://www.moew.government.bg/static/media/ups/tiny/filebase/Nature/Natura%202000/PU/BG0002101.rar
	No, but in preparation
	No

6.3 Conservation measures (optional)

No information provided

 

7. MAP OF THE SITE

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SITE DISPLAY