baumzaehlen - Primeval Forests & Their Trees

Boatin Strict Nature Reserve, Bulgaria

Boatin Reserve (16 km ² ) is a part of Central Balkan National Park and also a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Almost pure Fagus sylvatica (European beech) forest covers 13 km ² up to 1550 m elevation ¹ . According to the official national park information ² , F. sylvatica reaches here more than 50 m. However, such trees have probably been measured using the tangent method, which often results in over-measurement ³ . Using a TruPulse 200X laser instrument, I scanned a good portion of the lower parts searching for tall trees in 2016. The tallest tree I found was only 43.5 m. Over 40-metre trees are abundant but the existence of a 50-metre tree is very unlikely.

Boatin is not as undisturbed as the biggest reserves of the national park, Steneto and Dzhendema , which is understandable taking into account the easy access from the nearby villages. At lower elevations, there are plenty of multi-trunk trees forking at about 10 m suggesting the forest has been much lower in the past. Abundant burned wood on the forest floor indicates a forest fire in the past. However, there are no cut stumps.

Elevation ranges from 800 m to 1750 m. Slopes are predominantly north-facing, gentle to steep. A few marked trails run through the reserve.

References:

1 /02e609d635ef9909091ef1700c7134f7/en/tentativelists/6013/

2 http://visitcentralbalkan.net/

3 Bragg, D. C., Frelich, L. E., Leverett, R. T., Blozan, W. & Luthringer, D. J. (2011): The Sine Method: An Alternative Height Measurement Technique . The Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Research Note SRS-22.

Official site:

http://visitcentralbalkan.net/en/