Momchil Panayotov Panayotov

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at University of Forestry

Aim Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) is a dominant tree species across Eurasia, and is known to regenerate on decaying logs. Understanding its regeneration dynamics is crucial for predicting forest sustainability under climate change. The decay type of the logs, indicative of fungal decay capabilities of lignin and holocellulose and traditionally cate...

The effective biodiversity goal achievement presupposes cross-sectoral policy coherence and implementation across EU, national and local levels. The goal implementation also depends on supportive behavioural responses by forest owners and managers who have to respond to multiple policy and socio-economic drivers forcing them to make trade-offs unde...

Balancing increasing demand for wood products while also maintaining forest biodiversity is a paramount challenge. Europe’s Biodiversity and Forest Strategies for 2030 attempt to address this challenge. Together, they call for strict protection of 10% of land area, including all primary and old growth forests, increasing use of ecological forestry,...

Climate change, with its increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, poses challenges for tree growth. We investigated the response of Norway spruce at its southern- most distribution point in the Western Rhodope Mountains, an area expected to experience significant changes in temperature and precipitation. Using a dendroecologica...

Backcountry skiing and touring has become more popular in Bulgaria in the past decade. Unfortunately , the rise in popularity of these activities has also been accompanied by avalanche accidents. In addition, there is no official avalanche center that issues regular avalanche bulletins for the Bulgarian mountains , and therefore backcountry ski tou...

Проявата на снежни лавини в района на ски курорт "Банско" в Пирин планина е често явление, оказващо голямо влияние върху естествената динамика на горите и туризма. Поради лесния достъп районът става все по-популярен и е посещаван от голям брой туристи, които не са достатъчно информирани за лавинната опасност. По тази причина създаването на модел на...

With ongoing global warming, increasing water deficits promote physiological stress on forest ecosystems with negative impacts on tree growth, vitality, and survival. How individual tree species will react to increased drought stress is therefore a key research question to address for carbon accounting and the development of climate change mitigati...

The jet stream is an important dynamic driver of climate variability in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes1–3. Modern variability in the position of summer jet stream latitude in the North Atlantic–European sector (EU JSL) promotes dipole patterns in air pressure, temperature, precipitation and drought between northwestern and southeastern Europ...

Carbon accounting in the land sector requires a reference level from which to calculate past losses of carbon and potential for gains using a stock-based target. Carbon carrying capacity represented by the carbon stock in primary forests is an ecologically-based reference level that allows estimation of the mitigation potential derived from protect...

In the book Avalanches in the Bunderitsa valley in Pirin Mountains we present data from long-term studies of avalanches in the Bunderitsa valley in the Pirin Mountains. The areas, which were periodically affected by avalanches were mapped using analysis of orthophotos from different years and modern-day satellite images. The data is presented in Ch...

Recent observations of tree regeneration failures following large and severe disturbances , particularly under warm and dry conditions, have raised concerns about the resilience of forest ecosystems and their recovery dynamics in the face of climate change. We investigated the recovery of temperate forests in Europe after large and severe disturban...

We collected and analyzed structural and tree-ring data in Steneto and Boatin Natural Reserves and studied tree response after disturbances (ice and wind damages and fires) in North Dzhendem, Steneto and Sokolna reserves in the Central Balkan National Park, Bulgaria. Our aim was to contribute to the understanding of the structural variability of un...

Един от районите с очаквани най-сериозни промени в горите като следстиве от климатичните промени е Югозападна България,където според климатичните модели е много вероятен бъдещ средиземноморскитип климат със значително повишаване на температурите. Това е сред основните причини територията на Югозападното Държавно предприятие (ЮЗДП) да бъде избрана з...

Current status of study on large avalanches in the vicinity of Bansko ski resort, Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria. Use of tree-ring analysis to obtain information on large avalanches in the past and RAMMS software to simulate the parameters of avalanches.

In our study we reconstruct past avalanches in three couloirs in close proximity to Bansko ski resort in Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria. We combined tree-ring analysis, satellite images and historical aerophotos to evaluate the effects of large avalanches. With the use of the avalanche-simulation software RAMMS (extended) we calculated the parameters of...

Canopy accession strategies reveal much about tree life histories and forest stand dynamics. However, the protracted nature of ascending to the canopy makes direct observation challenging. We use a reconstructive approach based on an extensive tree ring database to study the variability of canopy accession patterns of dominant tree species (Abies a...

Global change outcomes for forests will be strongly influenced by the demography of juvenile trees. We used data from an extensive network of forest inventory plots in Europe to quantify relationships between climate factors and growth rates in sapling trees for two ecologically dominant species, Norway spruce and European beech. We fitted nonlinea...

Over the last decades, the natural disturbance is increasingly putting pressure on European forests. Shifts in disturbance regimes may compromise forest functioning and the continuous provisioning of ecosystem services to society, including their climate change mitigation potential. Although forests are central to many European policies, we lack th...

The Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria are refuge of endemic Pinus peuce and Pinus heldreichii forests. Due to the steep and long slopes, the forests are affected by avalanches and many trees keep record of the past avalanche activity in their tree rings. In our study, we used a combination of dendrochronology, satellite images and historical aerophotos t...

The Macedonain pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.) is one of the main species in subalpine forests in the Balkan Peninsula. Given the forecasted increase of temperatures in the next decades there are worries about the health status and distribution of many species, including the currently dominant coniferous. Studies of low localities may provide valuable i...

Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria are the refuge of some of the best-protected endemic Pinus peuce and Pinus heldreichii forests in the world. These species are famous for their longevity with many trees reaching more than 500 years. Due to the steep and long mountain slopes the forests are affected by avalanches and some of the trees keep record of past...

Quercus protoroburoides Donchev and Bouzov ex Tashev and Tsavkov (Rila oak) is a species with extremely limited and localized distribution. It is found only on several locations on slopes above Rila Monastery in Rila Mountains (Bulgaria) at elevations between 1500 m and 1750 m a.s.l. The trees are in small groups or scattered, usually situated on r...

The mechanistic pathways connecting ocean-atmosphere variability and terrestrial productivity are well-established theoretically, but remain challenging to quantify empirically. Such quantification will greatly improve the assessment and prediction of changes in terrestrial carbon sequestration in response to dynamically induced climatic extremes....

In our study we use combination of tree-ring analysis, satellite images and historical aerophotos to evaluate the effects of avalanches on forests in the Bunderitsa valley. We have collected tree-ring cores from affected trees on the borders between the forest and some of the large avalanche couloirs on the northwestern slope of Todorka peak and th...

Primary forests, defined here as forests where the signs of human impacts, if any, are strongly blurred due to decades without forest management, are scarce in Europe and continue to disappear. Despite these losses, we know little about where these forests occur. Here, we present a comprehensive geodatabase and map of Europe’s known primary forests...

Aims We examined differences in lifespan among the dominant tree species (spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), fir (Abies alba Mill.), beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), and maple (Acer pseudoplatanus L.)) across primary mountain forests of Europe. We ask how disturbance history, lifetime growth patterns, and environmental factors influence lifespan. Loc...

We report on procedures and analyses undertaken in relation to the initial discovery, and the post-processing of data on the Saint Nicholas Bay Shipwreck, Chernomorets, Bulgaria. The methods applied include geophysical remote sensing, dendrochronological and anatomical analysis of ship’s timbers, RTI imagery for deciphering a series of illegible pr...

The book Лавини в България (Avalanches in Bulgaria) provides data on avalanches in Bulgaria, practical guides on analyzing snowpack, managing avalanche risk, rescue activities, mitigation measures and more on the topic. More about the book at: https://www.facebook.com/lavinivbulgaria/ (in Bulgarian)

Дендрохронологията е съвкупно наименование за редица методи- чески подходи, които целят да се разчете записана в годишните пръстени на дървесните растения информация. А тя е многообразна. През целия си живот дървесните растения изпитват влиянието на редица фактори, които оказват въздействие върху тях. Варирането на температурите и валежите, различн...

Primary forests are critical for forest biodiversity and provide key ecosystem services. In Europe, these forests are particularly scarce and it is unclear whether they are sufficiently protected. Here we aim to: (a) understand whether extant primary forests are representative of the range of naturally occurring forest types, (b) identify forest ty...

LINK to VIDEO presentation: https://videopress.com/v/nzbT76la //// ABSTARCT: Tree rings from long-living tree species are one of the most valuable paleo-climate archives. Often the best correlations with the climate parameters of interest, especially summer temperature, are found for Maximum latewood density (MXD). A potential easier and more aff...

Tree rings are a natural archive containing valuable information about environmental changes. Among the most sensitive ecosystems to such changes are high-mountain forests. Tree-ring series from such locations are exceptionally valuable both for climate reconstructions and for studying the effects of climate changes on forest ecosystems. The object...

In our study we used photogrammetric and remote sensing methods, analysis of orthoimages and satellite images and terrain field work to collect data on old-growth forests. We studied beech-dominated forests in the Steneto Reserve in the Central Balkan National Park (Stara planina Mountains, Bulgaria) and mixed fir-beech-spruce forests in the Parang...

Climate changes, their regional patterns, origin, and prediction are currently one of the most important scientific challenges. Tree-rings are among the most widely used proxies for past climate variation. However tree-ring width (TRW) from certain tree species and regions often do not contain robust climate signal. Other parameters such as Maximum...

Autecology and ex situ growth of Leontopodium nivale subsp. nivale (Asteraceae) from North Pirin marbles (SW Bulgaria) Abstract Kozuharova, E., Panayotov, M. & Spadaro, V.: Autecology and ex situ growth of Leontopodium nivale subsp. nivale (Asteraceae) from North Pirin marbles (SW Bulgaria).-Fl. Medit. 28: 187-206. 2018.-ISSN: 1120-4052 printed, 22...

After the year of 2000 wild land fires are with constant occurrence on Bulgarian territory and the fire season is having two picks one in March - April and another July - October periods. In 2017 wild land fires occurred all over south Bulgaria even in places where fires are not that common. Such place was Kresna Gorge where is located Struma Motor...

Climate change have the potential to strongly affect mountain coniferous forests in Bulgaria in several ways: (1) By directly affecting tree growth and the potential of trees to successfully cope with climate extremes; (2) By affecting disturbance events and regimes, which on their turn may trigger further habitat changes; (3) By facilitating migra...

Norway spruce forests are among the forests most affected by natural disturbances in Europe. One of the key aspects is the regeneration of the disturbed areas, which is decisive for later forest development. We studied the natural regeneration after two windthrows that occurred 30 (1983) and 50 years ago (1962) in an old-growth forest over 150-year...

Norway spruce forests are among the forests most affected by natural disturbances in Europe. One of the key aspects is the regeneration of the disturbed areas, which is decisive for later forest development. We studied the natural regeneration after two windthrows that occurred 30 (1983) and 50 years ago (1962) in an old-growth forest over 150-year...

Aim Primary forests have high conservation value but are rare in Europe due to historic land use. Yet many primary forest patches remain unmapped, and it is unclear to what extent they are effectively protected. Our aim was to (1) compile the most comprehensive European‐scale map of currently known primary forests, (2) analyse the spatial determina...

Natural diversity of relief, climate variability, geographical as well as historical reasons contribute to the presence of old-growth forest patches in various forest types in Bulgaria. For reasons of biodiversity protection, scientific studies and forest certification several projects aimed at locating and collecting data for old-growth forests in...

Disturbances are among the most important processes that shape forest dynamics and landscapes. However the historic ranges of variability (HRV) of many coniferous forests in Europe and specifically in the mountains on the Balkan Peninsula are not well understood. We present the first overview of available data on disturbance events in coniferous fo...

Mountain forests are among the most important ecosystems in Europe as they support numerous ecological, hydrological, climatic, social, and economic functions. They are unique relatively natural ecosystems consisting of long-lived species in an otherwise densely populated human landscape. Despite this, centuries of intensive forest management in ma...

Climatic variability often is thought to be most important for ecosystem development at ecotones, while competition is thought to be most important farther from ecotones, where neighboring plants compete for scarce resources. However, climatic variability may also modulate consequences of competition, especially under recent and future climate chan...

Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii Christ, also known as Pinus leucodermis Antoine) is a relict species found in isolated locations in the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula and Southern Italy. The forests are of high conservational value because they are extremely rich in rare and endemic species of plants and fungi. Yet, the natural history and distu...

Subalpine spruce forests are among the best preserved woodland ecosystems in Bulgaria with respect to their structure, functions, and biodiversity. Considerable territories of these forests were declared as protected areas at the beginning of the twentieth century, which allowed them to develop predominantly naturally. Nowadays, climate changes and...

Stomata have a key role in the balance of gas exchange parameters. Stomatal closure limits transpiration under conditions of water deficit. It also suppresses photosynthesis due to limited CO2-uptake. We examined the levels of stomatal control on the photosynthesis of Pinus mugo Turra, Pinus peuce Griseb. and Pinus heldreichii Christ. saplings duri...

Climate model projections suggest widespread drying in the Mediterranean Basin and wetting in Fennoscandia in the coming decades largely as a consequence of greenhouse gas forcing of climate. To place these and other “Old World” climate projections into historical perspective based on more complete estimates of natural hydroclimatic variability, we...

Natural disturbances are among the most important factors that shape forest dynamics and forest landscapes. However, the natural disturbance regime of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forests in Europe is not well understood. We studied the disturbance regimes in three forest reserves in Bulgaria (Parangalitsa, Bistrishko branishte, and Begl...

The potential of Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) wood for production of chemical pulp and glucose was studied. Different clones of Black locust growing in various habitats in Bulgaria were analysed and their chemical composition and density was compared. It was established that the differences in the content of cellulose, lignin, pentosanes...

The history of Bistrishko branishte reserve in Bulgaria and the associations of the recent big windthrow, bark beetle and fire with the past management

The European Mediterranean region is governed by a characteristic climate of summer drought that is likely to increase in duration and intensity under predicted climate change. However, large-scale network analyses investigating spatial aspects of pre-instrumental drought variability for this biogeographic zone are still scarce. In this study we in...

In 1934 was established the first national park on the Balkan Peninsula, today Vitosha Nature Park. One of its management objectives is conservation of the subalpine Norway spruce (Picea abies) forests in the park. In the last 60 years, significant areas of these forests have been affected by a series of medium and large-scale natural disturbances...

Land-Use/Land-Cover (LU/LC) change detection using satellite data has gained momentum with the advance of the pre-operational phase of regional and global earth observation programmes such as GEOS, GMES, and GOFC-GOLD to name but a few. Present study aims at revealing LU/LC change of Bistrishko branishte biosphere reserve using Landsat 5 TM and Lan...

Insects' infestations of coniferous forests have been in the focus of the forestry community for decades. Research that is dealing with the assessment of the impacts on forests and assessment of the area affected by the infestations has been assisted by remotely sensed data after the onset of civilian remote sensing era and making the large archive...

Aim To evaluate the climate sensitivity of model-based forest productivity esti-mates using a continental-scale tree-ring network. Location Europe and North Africa (30–70° N, 10° W–40° E). Methods We compiled close to 1000 annually resolved records of radial tree growth for all major European tree species and quantified changes in growth as a funct...

In 2001 the territory of the Bistrishko Branishte reserve of the Vitosha Mountain (Bulgaria) was affected by wind throw. Almost 100% of the Picea abies trees on an area of 60 ha were overthrown. After 2003 in the periphery of the wind throw an outbreak of Ips typographus has started, which developed at high speed and by 2008 affected 200 ha of the...

Tree-ring studies may help better understand climate variability and extreme climate event frequency and are especially useful in regions where detailed meteorological records lack. We studied the effect of droughts and unusually cold periods on Pinus sylvestris tree-ring width and wood anatomy. Study sites were selected along an altitudinal gradie...

Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii Christ) is a tertiary relict and Balkan sub-endemic species. Its communities are of high conservational value because they are extremely rich in rare and endemic plant and mushroom species. In Bulgaria, Pinus heldreichii forests are found only in the Pirin and Slavyanka Montains. Despite the necessity of better knowl...

Defining the parameters of old-growth forests in Europe is a key issue in forest management and conservation practices. The main parameters and their applicability for the territory of Bulgaria are presented and discussed in the article. A complex index for identification and evaluation of old-growth forests is suggested. On the basis of available...

Previous studies of Austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arnold) from different parts of Europe outlined the species as valuable for dendroclimatic analysis. It is usually suitable for high quality precipitation reconstruction for the periods before instrumental measurements. Despite this and the fact that in Bulgaria there are centuries-old Pinus nigra fore...

Pinus heldreichii and Pinus peuce are tree species characterized by longevity. Previous studies have outlined the potential for constructing long tree ring chronologies, which may be used for studying the climatic variation in the past. A difficulty is the mixed climatic signal with negative effect of summer droughts, but also of extremely cold sum...

Natural disturbances in Bulgarian forests

50 метра, след които ще заложим нова пробна площ. Няколко бързи крачки по склона и се изгубва в мъглата. Изведнъж се чува вик " Елате да видите това нещо ". Само след секунди пред нас се разкрива гледка на огромен ствол на старо дърво. Паднал на земята преди години, той е покрит с мъх, по който се стичат струйки вода. Към небето все още гледа само...

The dominant atmospheric circulation pattern that governs European summer climate is a blocking-like pattern over the British Isles that co-occurs with a low over southeastern Europe. The meridionally oriented configuration of this circulation pattern favours the intrusion of warm air over the northeastern Mediterranean during one mode and over nor...

В самото начало на м. Февруари 2012 г. в горски терени в Рила паднаха две лавини, които ясно напомнят за мощта на това явление и значението му за горите и хората. Особеното за тях е, че и двете стартираха от зони на пожарища, които не са били залесени. Докато лавината на Мальовица нанесе сравнително малки щети на дървесна растителност, но за сметка...

On 22 may 2001 strong winds caused winthrow in Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) forests in two regions on Vitosha mountain, Western Bulgaria. Especially the blowdown in the biosphere reserve Bistrishko braniste (60 ha) raised much social debate because it was followed by a bark beetle (Ips typhographus L.) outbreak which caused the death of the ma...

Avalanches in Bulgarian forests from the point of view of foresters.

a b s t r a c t Correct knowledge of disturbance ecology is essential for understanding the characteristic behavior of forest ecosystems and for guiding appropriate management strategies. However, the role of natural dis-turbances in shaping European mountain forest ecosystems has not been adequately studied, possibly because of the perception that...

We studied the avalanche activity on the northwestern slope of peak Todorka in the Pirin Mts (SW Bulgaria) and its influence on forests. The terrain was mapped by building a digital elevation model (DEM) from the topographical maps and with the help of aerial photographs. The terrain characteristics of the slope were found suitable for the formatio...

Tree ring chronologies are one of the main sources of high-resolution proxy records for periods without instrumental climate data. Yet, for the territory of the Balkan Peninsula well-replicated chronologies are still limited in number and distribution. We studied pointer years in two high-mountain Picea abies tree ring chronologies from Bulgaria an...

Numerous proxy climate reconstructions have been developed for Europe, but there are still regions with limited data of this kind. One region is the Balkan Peninsula, which is characterized by complex interactions between mountains and climate. We present and discuss two tree-ring chronologies—a 758-year-long one of Pinus heldreichii Christ and 340...

Small paper explaining the unusual avalanche cycle in 2010 in Bulgaria. Малка статия, която документира и обяснява необичайния лавинен цикъл от зимата на 2010 г. в българските планини.

The paper presents the results of a study on the variation of morphological and anatomical traits of needles and tree ring width in several sites of Pinus heldreichii CHRIST in Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria. The tree ring width decreased with the increase of altitude. The summer drought and insufficient rainfalls had negative effect on the tree growth,...

This paper contains an analysis of the influence of avalanches on the anatomical structure and variation of width of tree rings. I have taken cores from trees in the transition and accumulation zones of one of the major couloirs on the Northwestern slope of Todorka peak, Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria. The results show, that the most accurate signs for...

In this article the authors present a 300-year tree-ring chronology of Pinus peuce from a treeline site in the Pirin Mts in Bulgaria. The possible climate that influences tree-ring growth is discussed, as well as the reasons for occurrence of frost and light rings. On the basis of our results, we have concluded that radial growth depends mostly on...