Nadezhda Ilieva – Socio-economic aspects in the development of the EU exter- nal land border territories of Bulgaria – problems and perspectives

Object of study in this publication are the land territory of Bulgaria that are external border areas of the EU. Due to the peculiarities of their socio-economic situation and possibilities for their future development, driven by the similarity in the character of their geographical location, they will be examined together. The main objective of the study is to analyze the socio-economic aspects in the development of the EU external land border territories of Bulgaria and to outline the problems and perspectives for their development. The study area have some common features and problem solving: common features in the geographical position, the natural environment, social and economic problems. From the analysis we can conclude that the main problems associated with the development of the studied areas are focused in the following areas:
– Dominant negative trends in the economy in recent decades, which affects their overall development. The analysis shows that most municipalities (except regional centers) are characterized by low production diversification, which can not guarantee economic stability.
– Negative trends in demographic processes, which further complicate the economic development of municipalities. For most of them are typical high unemployment and lack of alternative employment opportunities, enhanced processes of migration of working-age population in other parts of the country and abroad. All these disadvantages lead to enhanced processes of depopulation and worsened age structure.
– High concentration of activities in the administrative centers.
– Low investment activity and lack of investor interest.
– Lack of funds to implement the strategic objectives of municipalities.
– The structure of enterprises is presented by micro and small enterprises operating mainly in the field of trade.
– Lack of well developed transport and communications infrastructure.
– Primitive agriculture especially municipalities along the western border, accompanied by fragmentation of agricultural land and plots.
– Low developed cross-border cooperation with neighboring of these territories countries (Serbia, Macedonia and Turkey). All these processes are accompanied by limiting state subsidies and short-sighted policy of the state to the peripheral and the cross-border territories.

Keywords: EU external land border territories of Bulgaria, demographic processes, socio-economic development, problems and perspectives

Viliyan Krastev – On the new tourist zoning of Bulgaria: critical consideration

This article is an attempt to question the new tourist zoning of Bulgaria which has been approved as a final draft concept in July 2014 by a team of the National Centre for Regional Development. The subject of this paper is a result of the interest of the author on the role of tourism as a means of zoning for successful positioning of Bulgaria on the international tourism market. The main elements which characterize the new zoning as: number, scope, specialization and name of the regional units are constructively criticized. A constructive guidance for improvement is offered concerning the proposed variant of the regional model through amend- ments about: reducing the number of tourist areas; adjusting their scope according to the territorial dependence of tourism demand and supply and territorial relevance to the communications system; delineation of regional boundaries according to the criteria of the major taxonomic unit e.g. administrative district; branding tourist areas in accordance with the development of the territorial identity.

Keywords: tourist zoning, Bulgaria, regional marketing, tourism specialization

Peter Nojarov – Current tendencies in the regime and distribution of cloudiness and sunshine duration in Bulgaria

This article examines spatial and temporal distribution of cloudiness and sunshine duration in Bulgaria. The period of investigation of contemporary state of these two climatic elements is 1999–2013 for sunshine duration, 1984–2007 for cloudiness according to satellite data and 1999–2014 for cloudiness according to ground based observations. Low and mountain stations are used in order to track changes not only in horizontal but also in vertical direction. Data from some older periods (1941-70 for cloudiness and 1951-70 for sunshine duration) are also used in order to detect trends in these two climatic elements. The main research methods are statistical. Satellite data for cloudiness show higher values than previously accepted in almost all months of the year except in winter. In the most part of the year spatial distribution of cloudiness is determined by local factors, such as relief and land-water borderline. That is why central part of western Bulgaria, which consists predominantly of mountains and valleys, has the highest cloudiness values. The influence of circulation factor increases in winter months, which is reflected in an appropri- ate manner by the spatial distribution of cloudiness. Satellite data show intraannual cloudiness course with first maximum in March and secondary – in December. The minimum, according to both ground and satellite measurements, is in August. There are not any temporal changes in the average annual values of total cloudiness. A significant increase is observed in September, while there is a significant decrease in the values of total cloudiness in June and November. Spatial distribution of sunshine duration in Bulgaria is largely similar to the spatial distribution of cloudiness, as the areas with higher cloudiness values have less sunshine duration and vice versa. Correlation between these two elements is statistically significant and it could be assumed that variations in total cloudiness determine about 85–90% of the variations in sunshine duration. A significant increase of sunshine hours in the low part of Bulgaria is observed over the past two decades in almost all months except in September and October. The main factor that causes this increase is the increase of transparency of the atmosphere during this period related to the closure of many industries, both in Bulgaria and in Europe. Thus, the amount of aerosols discharged into the atmosphere has decreased. This effect is not observed in mountainous parts of Bulgaria as they are far enough from sources of pollution. Sunshine duration has not changed substantially in recent decades in the mountains.

Keywords: cloudiness, sunshine duration, trends, relationships, Bulgaria

Mila Chilikova – Lubomirova – Monitoring of the ecological river flow in conditions of climate change, drought and water scarcity conditions>

In case of climate change, drought or water scarcity conditions natural rivers and related to them terrestrial ecosystems function are faced to number of challenges. Basic measure for their protection is to ensure an appropriate media for thier growth. Regarding enforced in Bulgaria legislation and applied practices for the purpose a minimum permissible streamflow into rivers, defined as ecological flow is adopted. For the problems connected to its maintainance in the article briefly are presented main requirements connected to its determination and control with a proposal of authors methodological frame covering both aspects with regard to the growing impact of climate change, drought and water scarcity problems. The proposals are appropriate for practical realization and as a proof a new methodologi- cal frame for a system for the river ecological flow monitroing including presented aspects is suggested.

Keywords: ecological flow, rivers ecosystems, ecological flow monitoring, drought, wa- ter scarcity

Marian Varbanov, Kristina Gartsiyanova, Gergana Metodieva – Anthropogenic impact on the river water quality in the western part of the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv field

Anthropogenic impact on surface water quality in an area can be carried out spot or diffuse. The study of spatial and temporal variations of the spread and behavior of pollutants in rivers is essential for the population and aquatic ecosystems. The choice of the topic of this article is result by the fact that despite the relatively small areas, watersheds, and river water in particular are subjected to significant human impact. In the studied area there are large industrial facilities by the mining and non-ferrous metallurgy, manufacturing, intensive agriculture is developed, there is a high part of the utilities sector. The results show that the condition of the studied river basins does not meet even “fair” under Regulation H-4/2013. The anthropogenic impact is a complex, multifaceted and is implemented as point and diffuse. Large industrial enterprises in the region are a major source of toxic pollutants.

Keywords: anthropogenic impact, surface water, river water, water quality, pollutants, Pazardzhik-Plovdiv field

Velimira Stoyanova – he method DRESPI. Indicators characterizing the hydrogeological conditions of groundwater in the Ogosta river floodplain between Martinovo village and the “Ogosta” reservoir (NW Bulgaria)

The article provides an overview indicators characterized hydrogeo- logical conditions (depth to water, net recharge, soil texture, impact of the thickness of soil) for assessing the vulnerability of groundwater contamination of arsenic of groundwater in floodplains of Ogosta River between Martinovo village and “Ogosta” Reservoir. The indicators are part of the modification of the index method – DRASTIC, called DRESPI. From the analysis presented in the article indicators to assess the vulnerability of groundwater to arsenic contamination can be concluded that they are the most vulnerable in bankful channel to 1 m and active floodplain (T0) – 1-3,5 m and at least in the floodplain (Th) -3,5-5 m and 5-6,5 m. Indicators that reflect the arsenic migration in landscapes and map vulnerability will be addressed in other pub- lications. This study has been realized in the frame of the research project ASCOR ‘Arsenic contamination of Ogosta river: Linking biogeochemical processes in flood- plain soils with river system dynamics’, № IZEBZO-142978 from Bulgarian-Swiss Research Programme (2011-2016). Heads of Project are Prof. Dr. Ruben Kretzschmar (Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH – Zürich, Switzerland) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tsevetan Kotsev (National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Department of “Geography”, Section Physical Geography). The author thanks to then and to colleagues.

Keywords: depth to water, net recharge, soil texture, impact of the thickness of soil

Jinming Sha, Chunjiao Ye, Xiaomei Li – Information Geography and Information Geographic Landscape

The internet, cloud computing, big data, spatial geographic information, and geo- information technologies play an important role in our information society. This article discusses current research issues of the information geography and the information geographic landscape. The information geography is a new multidisciplinary field of social geography that study the regional digital information resources, network links, new region’s characteristics and time-space characteristics of the social and economic networks. The focus is set on the four main aspects: the idea of space – time, network relationship, big data and the idea of double – space (real and virtual space).

Keywords: Information geography, Information geographic landscape, Network rela- tionship, Big data

Shuteng Zhao, Jinming Sha, Xiaomei Li, Rumiana Vatseva – High-resolution satellite image analysis based on Classification and Regression Trees algorithm

Spectral features, shape and texture features of objects in high-resolution remote sensing images can be extracted by object-oriented classification. In order to obtain a feature set which include as minimum feature number as possible, but not harm the classification accuracy remarkably, the primary feature set need to be optimized. Comparing the accuracy of Sequential backward search with Max-relevance and Min-redundancy, the classification rules were obtained by Classification and Regression Trees (CART) with the optimal feature subset. With the Worldview2 high-resolution remote sensing imagery, experimental result shows, Sequential Backward Search is suitable for the study area to rank features. Using the optimized subset to build CART model is an effective way to maintain the classification accuracy and improve image processing efficiency.

Keywords: Remote Sensing, High-resolution imagery; Feature selection; Classification and Regression Trees (CART) algorithm; Object-oriented classification

Petar Dimitrov – Prediction of coniferous forest tree-size diversity based on spectral and texture data from satellite images

Tree-size diversity is an important characteristic of forests which is connected with their structural complexity. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between spectral and texture features from SPOT 5 and QuickBird images from the one hand and diversity of trees’ diameter and height from the other. Based on ground measurements in a coniferous forest site, four parameters were calculated for the diameter and height: Shannon’s index, Range, Diversity, and Coefficient of Variation (CV). From the SPOT 5 spectral bands and six vegetation indices (VIs) the near-infrared band was most strongly correlated with the forest parameters. For all parameters (except CV) correlations were significant (maximal values between –0.74 and –0.85). The QuickBird spectral bands and VIs did not show better correlations compared with the SPOT 5. From the tested texture measures derived from the QuickBird bands the Homogeneity and Dissimilarity were the most correlated with the tree-size diversity parameters (r=0.42 ÷ –0.67). Multiple linear regression equations were compiled for prediction of the Range of diameter and height classes (Adj. R2=0.86 and 0.81 respectively). These equations allow estimating the Range of diameter and height classes with RMSE of 25% and 21% respectively, as calculated using leave-one-out cross-validation.

Keywords: forest structure, satellite spectral data, SPOT 5, QuickBird, Rila Mountain

Emilia Tcherkezova – Geomorphometric analysis of Central and Southeastern Bulgaria

This paper presents the preliminary results of digital terrain analy- sis of Central and Southeastern Bulgaria. It aims to clarify the morphometric and morphographic structure of the investigated area using digital elevation models with resolution 50 × 50 m and 25 × 25 m. The preliminary results show that the mor- phometric variables slope, terrain ruggedness index according to Riley et al. (1999), vertical distance to channel network (VDCN), SAGA wetness index and topographic classification index for lowlands (TCI_low) could be used successfully to describe the morphometric and morphographic structure of the investigated area at regional scale.
The digital morphometric analysis of Sakar Mountain and the surround area allowed us to calculate relevant geomorphometric variables and morphographic units of some archaeological objects. The obtained results will be used for archaeological analysis of those archaeological objects and as basis for palaeo-ecological scenarios.

Keywords: digital elevation model (DEM), local and combined geomorphometric vari- ables and parameters, morphometric structure, geomorphographic units.

Željko Bjeljac, Radmila Jovanović, Aleksandra Terzić – The Kadibogaz gathering in the Balkan range (Stara planina) – model of cross-border cooperation

On the Stara planina (Balkan range), on the boundary line between Serbia and Bulgaria, in particular in the settlements Novo Korito (Serbia) and Salaš (Bulgaria), tourist event Gathering on Kadibogaz (Sabor na Kadibogazu) takes place since 2001, in the second half of July. The event itself is organized by municipalities Knjaževac (Serbia) and Belogradčik (Bulgaria). This event began in 2001 with a common goal – the official opening of the border crossing at this location. Opening of the crossing would contribute to im- provement of the economies of Serbia and Bulgaria, especially because mentioned municipalities on both sides are among the poorest municipalities in the region. In addition to the official meetings of the representatives of municipalities, cultural and artistic events and entertainment shows were organized, along with popular folk groups, sports competitions and preparation of gastronomic specialties including Serbian and Bulgarian traditional cuisine. This event, which has the character of a economic and ethnographic event represent a model of a joint tourist offer of Serbia and Bulgaria in the area of Stara (Balkan) mountain, which is declared for the international nature park and Bilateral Peace Park, that have a potential to become an important tourist destination in Southeastern Europe.

Keywords: tourism, cross-border cooperation, events, Stara mountain (Balkan range), gathering, Kadyboaz, Serbia, Bulgaria.

Georgi Aleksiev – New book

The new book of Prof. Rumiana Vatseva “Dynamics of urban areas of the Black Sea coastal zone in Bulgaria for the period 1977-2011 based on Remote Sensing data” was published in May 2015 by the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 336 p. ISBN 978-954-9649-10-9. This book presents an in-depth study of urban areas dynamics of the Black Sea coastal zone in Bulgaria for 35-years period based on an integration of remote sensing and GIS, and an application of environmental indicators. The focus is set on the application of recent geoinformation technologies and innovative approaches for acquiring new knowledge by means of spatial analysis and modelling, and development of key environmental indicators based on land cover and land use data. In this study new results are obtained providing both original research and applied contributions.

Ivan Duminica – Atlas of the autonomous territorial unit of Gagauzia

In 2014 Atlas of Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia is published in Re- public of Moldova. The atlas is designed for the first time, and contains 47 maps which reflect the physical geography appearance, socio-economic development and demographic state of that autonomous unit. Information about territorial structure of Republic of Moldova and Gagauzia is provided in the Atlas too, as well as ethno- historical and administrative historical maps of the region. The content is presented in four languages: Gagauz, Russian, Moldavian (Romanian) and English in order to simplify general public use of the work.

Keywords: atlas, autonomous territorial unit, Gagauzia, maps

Dimitar Zhelev – The first geographic festival in Bulgaria

The First Geographic Festival – Yambol (25–26 May 2015) was an unique event in the geographic calendar for 2015. For very first time in our country the geographers had the chance to celebrate the spirit of knowledge in so various ways. The festival agenda included two competitions for students, several exhibitions, presentations, an excursion to the Kabile National Archaeological Reserve, etc. The guests had the pleasure to observe Prof. Rumen Penin’s presentation about his journeys to North West China and the Caribbean island of Dominica. More than 200 were the participant who joined the festival program for the two days. Every participant received a special certificate. Major partners of the festival were the Bulgarian Geographic Portal – Geograf BG, “Bulvest 2000” Publishing House, the Bulgarian Geographic Society, Shumen University, “Atanas Radev” Math High School and many others.

Keywords: geography, festival, Yambol

Ivanka Boteva – Deserved recognition of a Bulgarian geographer at a foreign university

At the inauguration of the new academic year, on 16 Oct.2015, the Ministry of National Education of Poland awarded Prof. DSc. Margarita Ilieva the „Medal of the National Education Commission“ for her teaching and research activity at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland. This award is given for „outstanding contributions in the field of education and upbringing“ and Prof. DSc. Margarita Ilieva was the only foreign professor among the awarded professors in 2015. The scientific work and activity of Prof. DSc. Margarita Ilieva has been related to the Institute of Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences where she worked for more than 40 years and is currently head of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography at the Institute of Geography at the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where she is the holder of basic disciplines and author of numerous scientific publications.

Rumen Penin – In the name of science and education. On the occasion of 80th anniversary of prof. Angel Velchev, Ph.D

This material is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the eminent Bulgarian scientist Prof. Ph.D. Angel Velchev – a physical geography and landscape studies expert, a longtime professor at “St. Kliment Ohridski” University of Sofia, the University of Shumen and the Veliko Tarnovo University. Author of over 250 scientific papers published in Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, etc., co-author of three monographs, textbooks etc.

Georgi Aleksiev, Angel Velchev – A life entirely devoted of geographic sciences. Prof. Hernani Borisov Spiridonov, D.Sc., at the age 80

This material is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Prof. DSc. Hernani Spiridonov – a prominent Bulgarian geographer whose research interests are in the field of geomorphology, geodynamics, geology and the neotectonics, as well as the development and improvement of remote sensing and ground surveys of the natural components, used in their mapping. Prof. Spiridonov has a very extensive experience in the training of undergraduate and PhD students, as well as a significant contribution in organizing national and international scientific forums

Department of Geography – Professor Luka Delchev Ziapkov, D.Sc. (1932–2015)

In 2015, the geographical community lost Prof. DSc. Luka Delchev Zyapkov – a prominent Bulgarian geographer, whose 45 years of scientific work passed at the Institute of Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His studies were devoted to the physical geography and in particular – hydrology.

Department of Geography – Professor Haralampi Tishkov, D.Sc. (1927–2015)

In 2015, the geographical community lost Prof. DSc. Haralampi Salchev Tishkov – a prominent Bulgarian geographer with a long career at the Institute of Geography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and professor at a number of universities. His studies were devoted to the physical geography and in particular – climatology.

Bulgarian Geography Society – Professor Petar Vasilev Petrov, Ph.D. (1933–2015)

In 2015, Bulgarian geographical science lost one of its most distinguished scholars and teachers – Sofia University Professor Petar Vasilev Petrov, Ph.D. Professor Petrov left a very rich academic heritage of over 200 scientific papers, with noteworthy contributions in the fields of landscape ecology, geoecology, landscape and spatial planning. His thousands of students and his colleagues will remember him as an example of dedication to the geography field, ardent professionalism, and inexhaustible human kindness.

Chavdar Mladenov – Professor Gyula Horváth, D.Sc. (1951–2015)

In 2015, with the sudden death of Hungarian scientist, Professor Gyula Horváth, D.Sc., Bulgarian geography lost a dear friend, an eminent scientist, a founder of a number of scientific schools, and a great leader and organizer. Professor Horvath was a prolific writer – author and co-author of over 450 articles, including 110 in foreign languages and editor of 32 books. Prof. Horváth laid the foundations of Bulgarian-Hungarian scientific cooperation in the field of geography and regional studies.