Torfeno Branishte
Encyclopedia
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
on Vitosha Mountain
Vitosha
Vitosha is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the tourists symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Convenient bus lines and rope ways render the mountain easily accessible. Vitosha has the outlines of an enormous...
in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, along with the Bistrishko Branishte
Bistrishko Branishte
Bistrishko Branishte is a nature reserve on Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria comprising the eastern slopes of Golyam Rezen , Malak Rezen and Skoparnik Peaks, the northern slopes of Golyam Kupen Peak , and the upper valleys of Vitoshka Bistritsa River and Yanchevska River...
reserve. The reserve has a surface area of 728.8 ha comprising the parts of Big Plateau and the Kapaklivets Plateau between the peaks of Cherni Vrah
Cherni Vrah
Cherni Vrah is the summit of Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria. Rising to 2290 m, the peak is the fourth highest mountain summit in the country after Musala , Vihren , and Botev Vrah .Cherni Vrah is bounded to the northwest by Torfeno Branishte which — like the extensive adjacent...
(2290 m), Ushite
Ushite Peak
Ushite Peak is a peak rising to in northern Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. The peak is situated on the northern border of Torfeno Branishte Nature Reserve, and 650 m south of Kamen Del Peak...
(1906 m), and Chernata Skala (1869 m), including the upper watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
s of the Vladayska, Boyanska
Boyanska River
The Boyanska reka is a river in western Bulgaria, a tributary to Vladayska River.The river flows from the northern slopes of Cherni Vrah on Vitosha Mountain, crossing Torfeno Branishte Nature Reserve; at the northern foothills of Vitosha the river drops forming the Boyana waterfall and then...
and Dragalevska
Dragalevska River
Dragalevska River is a river in western Bulgaria, a tertiary tributary to Iskar River.The river flows from the lower northern part of Torfeno Branishte Nature Reserve on Vitosha Mountain, and passes by Kominite area; at the northern foothills of Vitosha the river crosses the village of Dragalevtsi...
Rivers.
Torfeno Branishte was created in 1935 to preserve the pristine turf communities in the Subalpine zone of Vitosha, with hundreds of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
and algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
species. The turf surface is 0.6 to 2 m thick, increasing by 1 mm annually. The territory is virtually treeless, with some shrub communities such as sallow, juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
and blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
, and occasional mountain pine
Mountain Pine
Pinus mugo, the Mountain Pine or Mugo Pine, is a high-altitude European pine, found in the Pyrenees, Alps, Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines and Balkan Peninsula mountains from 1,000 m to 2,200 m, occasionally as low as 200 m in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high...
.
Access to the reserve is strictly forbidden because along with its conservation
Conservation designation
A conservation designation is a name and/or acronym which explains the status of an area of land in terms of conservation or protection.-United Kingdom:*Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty *Environmentally Sensitive Area*Local Nature Reserve...
status Torfeno Branishte is also a drinking water catchment area
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
.