„SILKOSIA” RESERVE

Area Descriptions

It was declared a reserve back in 1933 to protect the mixed deciduous forest of oak and Oriental beech and the plants unique only to Strandja mountain which are found nowhere else in Europe. This is the first reserve in Bulgaria. It protects a valuable plant and animal wealth. It is within Natural Park Strandja. Its area is 389.6 ha.

For the first time after World War I, the Bulgarian Botanical Society made a concrete proposal for the creation of reserves, but the favorable conditions for this became available after the establishment in 1928 of the Union for Protection of the Native Nature. Silkosia reserve was declared by Decree № 8485 of 29.06.1933 of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property as a "strictly safeguarded state forest Upper Elenitsa – Silkosia on the land of the villages of Bulgari and Kosti, Tsarevo Municipality, Burgas District , with an area of1022.6 ha. The reason in the Order for declaring it a reserve reads: "Because of the very rare and valuable forest tree species, and because of the typical bush and grass vegetation, which are extremely interesting from the point of view of dendrology, floristry, phytogeography and ecology the state forest Upper Elenitsa – Silkosia is declared a reserve, and from now on it is prohibited to use anything from the forest, to graze livestock, and to hunt, except for scientific purposes and with special prior permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property." On 29.06.2003 its 70th anniversary was celebrated.

The plant wealth of Silkosia Reserve is significant, but not fully studied. So far 260 species of higher plants belonging to 63 families and 190 genera have been identified. This represents 22.6% of Strandja flora and adds great value to the protected area. There are 16 species of relict and 3 species of endemic plants. Most impressive of the forest formations are those of Sessile oak and Oriental beech and the beech forests with undergrowth of evergreen shrubs which are relatively primitive. The southern parts of the forest, where the soils are poor, drought-resistant formations of oak and tree heath (white heath) can be found.

Besides Mediterranean plant species in the reserve there grow southeuxinus and Pontic species, which contribute to the unique features of the communities, such as Pontic rhododendron, lazhnik/tanniniferous oak, twin flowered daphne, star hyacinth, medlar-tree, borage, Aaron beard, etc.

The reserve is home to more than 50 protected animals – mammals, birds, and reptiles.
It has extremely diverse avifauna. Typical of the reserve are jays, orioles, southern nightingales, Sardinian warblers and whitethroats, different kinds of woodpeckers and raptors.