Iva Apostolova

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• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

This study investigates the scale-dependent alpha and beta diversity patterns in the subalpine grasslands of the Central Balkan Mountains following decades of reduced grazing. We examined two distinct vegetation patches: pure grasslands (N-type) and grasslands mixed with dwarf shrubs (V-type), focusing on coarse-scale (among stands) and fine-scale...

This study presents a sample of the high-mountain wetland vegetation changes over a 13-year period in Vitosha Nature Park. We re-survey the vegetation at the same locations, that were ensured by a 10 m buffer delimited around each 2006 coordinates and within this buffer sampling plots were re-located in 2019. We re-confirm all the previous high-mou...

The growing human population's demand for food and organic materials has a severe impact on the environment as conventional agriculture expands, destroying habitats and wildlife. This highlights the need to balance provision security with biodiversity conservation through new agricultural practices. This study investigates how different agricultura...

Aims: Developing a hierarchical classification system for classes, orders and alliances of the diverse dry grasslands of the Central and Eastern Balkan Peninsula and translating this into an electronic expert system (ES) for the automatic assignment of plots. Location: Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bulgaria and northern Greece. Methods: We extra...

The class Montio-Cardaminetea includes vegetation of springs with constant water flow. These habitats, which function as islands for highly specialized and sensitive biota, are endangered by ongoing landscape and climatic changes. Although a harmonized classification into vegetation units is necessary for effective habitat conservation, there is cu...

Civilizations, including ancient ones, have shaped global ecosystems in many ways through coevolution of landscapes and humans. However, the cultural legacies of ancient and lost civilizations are rarely considered in the conservation of the Eurasian steppe biome. We used a data set containing more than 1000 records on localities, land cover, prote...

Civilisations including ancient ones, have shaped the global ecosystems in many ways through a co-evolution of landscapes and humans. However, the cultural legacies of ancient and lost civilisations are seldom considered in conservation. Here using a continental-scale dataset containing over 1,000 data records on the localities, land cover, protect...

As a distinctive component of the cultural landscape in Eurasia, burial mounds are well known for their historical value. Recently their role as biodiversity hotspots, especially in the homogenous agricultural landscape, has become particularly important. Archaeological excavations, although necessary, are destructive to the natural elements on the...

Aim The first comprehensive checklist of European phytosociological alliances, orders and classes (EuroVegChecklist) was published by Mucina et al. (2016, Applied Vegetation Science , 19 (Suppl. 1), 3–264). However, this checklist did not contain detailed information on the distribution of individual vegetation types. Here we provide the first maps...

This work represents the first study of the floristic diversity on Bulgaria’s ancient mounds. The objective of this research was to assess the importance of the mounds for the preservation of the native vascular and cryptogam flora. Our sampling design included 111 ancient mounds distributed throughout the country. We recorded a total of 1059 vascu...

The aim of this study was to extend the knowledge on the floristic diversity, vegetation, ecology and threats of habitat 2340 *Pannonic inland dunes in Bulgaria. Fieldwork was conducted in 2018 and data were sampled at 35 phytosociological plots from 5 localities along the Danube in NW Bulgaria. A complete list of vascular plants and bryophytes, pe...

Coastal dunes are valuable and vulnerable habitats that require scientific exploration and understanding of their natural processes; therefore, the aims of this study were to determine the current vegetation characteristics of dune habitats along the Bulgarian Coast in terms of species richness and cover of typical psammophytes and different non-ps...

Question : Rich fens of the Sphagno warnstorfii-Tomentypnion nitentis alliance require a specific combination of base richness and climate to occur. Their rarity at the southeastern margins of their European range has previously prevented rigorous vegetation classification. We asked how many associations may be delimited here and whether some of th...

Motivation Assessing biodiversity status and trends in plant communities is critical for understanding, quantifying and predicting the effects of global change on ecosystems. Vegetation plots record the occurrence or abundance of all plant species co‐occurring within delimited local areas. This allows species absences to be inferred, information se...

Aims Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the...

Springs are ecosystems influenced by the exposure of groundwater at the Earth's surface. Springs are abundant and have played important, highly interactive ecological, cultural, and socio-economic roles in arid, mesic, and subaqueous environments throughout human evolution and history. However, springs also are widely regarded as being highly threa...

Eurasian steppes have an outstanding role in conserving grassland biodiversity. However, due to the large-scale landscape transformation during the past centuries in many regions stands of dry grassland habitats have been conserved only in the form of small terrestrial habitat islands. Such habitat islands are often present on the ancient burial mo...

Small natural features (SNFs), such as road verges, midfield islets, rocky outcrops and ancient burial mounds, provide safe havens for species of natural habitats in human-modified landscapes; therefore, their great ecological importance is in contrast to their small size. SNFs often have a high topographical heterogeneity and abiotic conditions, w...

Az eurázsiai sztyeppék kiemelkedő szerepet játszanak a biodiverzitás megőrzésében, azonban az elmúlt századokban tapasztalható élőhelypusztulás következtében sok esetben csak kis kiterjedésű refúgiumokban maradtak fent. Ilyen refúgiumok az ősi sztyeppi temetkezési halmok (halomsírok, más néven kurgánok), melyek nem csupán kulturális és történelmi,...

Mediterranean salt meadows (habitat 1410) occupy the Black sea coastal zone. The total area of habitat 1410 established so far is 31.63 ha. According to the last habitat mapping habitat 1410 was recorded with a total area of 0.56 ha within the BG0000270 “Atanasovsko ezero”. As a result of thorough observation of the territories around Atanasovsko L...

This study is the first overview of the floristic diversity of Bulgarian coastal dunes in terms of the presence of typical psammophytic or non-psammophytic plant species. It also aims to reveal changes in sand dune flora over time, based on own samples and existing data from previous studies. Our original floristic data was extracted from 154 phyto...

Higher biodiversity can stabilize the productivity and functioning of grassland communities when subjected to extreme climatic events. The positive biodiversity‐stability relationship emerges via increased resistance and/or recovery to these events. However, invader presence might disrupt this diversity‐stability relationship by altering biotic int...

Aims: Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover or abundance of plants co-occurring in the same community. Vegetation-plot data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies and biodiversity research centers and, thus, are rarely accessible at continental or global scales. Here we present the sPlot database,...

Bulgaria is enormously rich in historical monuments. Burial mounds are one of the most numerous among them. They are spread all over the country but are localized in lowlands where active agriculture takes place. Patches of semi-natural vegetation are often preserved on the ancient burial mounds most of which are remnants from thousands years ago....

Eurasian steppes have an essential role in conserving biodiversity, but due to the huge habitat loss in the past centuries they are often preserved only in small refuges. Among such refuges are the ancient steppic burial mounds (the so called 'kurgans') which have a high cultural and historical importance and are also essential sites of nature cons...

Diversity of subalpine semi-natural grasslands is threatened by both overgrazing and abandonment, resulting in degradation and woody plants encroachment, respectively. The effects of overgrazing, followed by a sharp decline of grazing are rarely assessed in uncontrolled conditions. We aimed at assessing plant species and functional diversity within...

Questions: Vegetation-plot records provide information on presence and cover or abundance of plants co-occurring in the same community. Vegetation-plot data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies and biodiversity research centers, and thus, are rarely accessible at continental or global scales. Here we present the sPlot database,...

The aim of this study was to identify how far the different dune types from one of the largest dune complexes at the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast are affected by the penetration of non-psammophytes and if there is an upward trend in their number. We studied the Kamchia dune system during 2013–2015. Vegetation was sampled at 162 plots along 12 transect...

The book is written to summarize the results of the WEMA project „Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystem Services of Wetlands in Bulgaria“. The project was implemented by the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBER‐BAS) and was accomplished with the financial support of the BG03 Program „Biodiversity...

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (relevés) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots...

The dry grasslands of the Central and Eastern Balkan Peninsula are highly diverse, but were lacking a high-rank phytosociological classification that is consistent across countries. We thus collated the Balkan Dry Grassland Database (BDGD; GIVD: EU-00-013) to fill this gap. We developed a hierarchical classification system for classes, orders and a...

The present Monitoring guide is part of the structure of the National Methodological Framework for the mapping and biophysical valuation of the ecosystems in Bulgaria. It consists of: - an Introductory part including reflections and outlined practical steps on the connection with the economic assessment, natural capital accounting and other subsequ...

The current document is part of the National Methodological Framework for assessment and mapping of ecosystem condition and ecosystem services in Bulgaria, which was produced with the financial support of the FM of the EEA, within the project BG03.PDP2“Methodological Support for Ecosystem Services Mapping and Biophysical Valuation” (MetEcoSMap). Th...

Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2020 calls EU Member States to map and assess ecosystem conditions and services. In line with the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) and the Reports of the Working Group on Mapping and Assessment on Ecosystems and their Services (MAES), Bulgar-ia developed a National Methodological Framework and Methodolog...

Based on the ‘European Mires Book’ of the International Mire Conservation Group (IMCG), this article provides a composite map of national datasets as the first comprehensive peatland map for the whole of Europe. We also present estimates of the extent of peatlands and mires in each European country individually and for the entire continent. A minim...

Biodiversity can buffer ecosystem functioning against extreme climatic events, but few experiments have explicitly tested this. Here, we present the first multi-site biodiversity×drought manipulation experiment to examine drought resistance and recovery at five temperate and Mediterranean grassland sites. Aboveground biomass production declined by...

22nd EVS International Workshop, Rome, 9-11 April 2013.

Steppe is among the most endangered biomes of the world, especially in Eastern Europe, where more than 90 % of original steppes have been destroyed due to conversion into croplands, afforestation and other human activities. Currently, steppe vegetation is often restricted to places unsuitable for ploughing, such as ancient burial mounds called kurg...

Here we present an extensive overview of plant diversity values in Palaearctic grasslands for seven standard grain sizes from 0.0001 to 100 m². The data originate from 20 studies, including the Field Workshops of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG), ranging geographically from Spain in the west to Siberia in the east, from Sicily in the south t...

This is the first version of the open-access dataset of "normal plant species richness" data in Palaearctic grasslands across 7 spatial scales (0.0001-100 m²), compiled by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG; www.edgg.org). Minimum, mean and maximum values for total plant species richness, vascular plant species richness, non-vascular plant spec...

Questions: How does the spatial configuration of sampling units influence recorded plant species richness values at small spatial scales? What are the consequences of these findings for samplingmethodology and rarefaction analyses? - Location: Six semi-natural grasslands in Western Eurasia (France, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Turkey). - Meth...

Questions: What are the major floristic and ecological gradients of the Balkan dry grassland vegetation and how could they best be reflected in a formal phytosociological classification? Location: Bulgaria, Northern Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia. Methods: We compiled a comprehensive vegetation-plot database of dry grasslands from...

The paper represents results from recent complex studies of flora, mycota and vegetation within the Kupena Reserve (Rodopi Mts, Bulgaria). Twenty three species, referred to 2 divisions, 4 classes and 16 families are recorded for the bryoflora. The vascular flora is presented by 368 species from 57 families, 121 of which are considered as medicinal...

The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) has been developed since 2012 by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey as a centralized database of European vegetation plots. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation-plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect the ongoing independent development of...

The study represents a pilot scientific research of flora, mycota and vegetation within the Dupkata Reserve. Twenty three species, referred to 2 divisions, 3 classes and 16 families are recorded for the bryoflora. One of them is listed in the Habitat Directive. The vascular flora is presented by 103 species from 38 families. Forty eight vascular pl...

A major study on biodiversity was conducted in 2014 in the Central Balkan National Park in relation to development of project No DIR 5113325-12-109 'Central Balkan – a Park for Everyone' under Operational Programme Environment 2007-2013. Information about flora and fauna diversity was collected from 11 representative model territories. In the pre...

The historical transition process from the Bulgarian Kingdom, through the Soviet period until the present situation affected humans and their land use preferences leading to repeated transformations of vegetation. We analysed the proportional change of vegetation types in a Bulgarian national park using aerial imagery over the last 65 years and obj...

A large proportion of European biodiversity today depends on habitat provided by low-intensity farming practices, yet this resource is declining as European agriculture intensifies. Within the European Union, particularly the central and eastern new member states have retained relatively large areas of species-rich farmland, but despite increased i...

The vegetation of Ponor Mt. has not been studied systematically. Being a part of the national Natura 2000 network, this region deserves special attention regarding the knowledge of biodiversity. The recent study was conducted during 2007-2010. Herbaceous vegetation was sampled and a total of 214 relevés were collected. They were analysed by divisiv...

Conclusions • We assume that the documented pattern of richness increase with plot shape and arrangement are also valid in other systems and at other spatial scales since we found such a high consistency in the results between the six different sites, the three grain sizes and the two sampling designs. • Our results allow to estimate the expected r...

Background & Aim: Grasslands are spatially and economically highly important for European agriculture and biodiversity. However, their species diversity and ecosystem functioning might increasingly be threatened by climate extremes and invasion dynamics. SIGNAL is a coordinated, distributed field and mesocosm experiment across a pan-European precip...

The Mediterranean area is a natural biodiversity hotspot that has also been influenced by humans for millennia. Especially the grasslands of Southern Europe have long been known for their diversity and beauty. However, several gaps remain in our knowledge about these grasslands, e.g. for some regions such as the southern Balkans, or taxonomic group...

The geographic position of Bulgaria results in a variety of climatic and biogeographic influences on the country’s vegetation. We aim to describe the plant diversity of dry grasslands distributed in the transitional belt between the south-eastern European and Mediterranean biogeographic regions in SE Bulgaria, and to reveal if there are any obvious...

European Vegetation Archive (EVA) was announced as a new initiative of the European Vegetation Survey at the EVS Meeting in Vienna in 2012. The aim of EVA is to create a centralized database of European vegetation plots by storing copies of national and regional databases on a single software platform using a unified taxonomic reference database. E...

European Vegetation Archive (EVA) was announced as a new initiative of the European Vegetation Survey at the EVS Meeting in Vienna in 2012. The aim of EVA is to create a centralized database of European vegetation plots by storing copies of national and regional databases on a single software platform using a unified taxonomic reference database. E...