60. Peat bog Vodniza, Rila Mountains (Bulgaria)

Site details The peat bog Vodniza (42° 08′ 12.34′′ N, 23° 25′ 24.48′′ E; 2113 m above sea level [a.s.l.]), a former lake, is located in the upper montane vegetation zone of the central part of the Rila Mountains near the timber-line. This vegetation zone is dominated by conifers (Picea, Pinus). The site has an elongated shape, c. 90 m long and 40 m wide, formed in a depression with a steep and rocky northeast slope, surrounded by groups of Pinus mugo Turra, Pinus peuce Griseb., Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., Pinus sylvestris L. and Juniperus sibirica Burgsd. The bog surface is overgrown by spots of Sphagnum spp., Carex nigra (L.) Reichard, Carex rostrata Stokes, Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) P. Beauv., Phleum alpinum L., Eriophorum angustifolium Honck., Eriophorum latifolium Hoppe, Caltha laeta Schott, Nyman et Kotschy, Trollius europaeus L., Geum coccineum Sm., Geum bulgaricum Pancǐc,́ Silene roemeri Friv., Veratrum lobelianum Bernh., Bartsia alpina L., Rumex alpinus L., Bistorta vivipara (L.) Delarbre, Campanula sparsa Friv., Plantago gentianoides Sm., Senecio nemorensis L., Tripleurospermum caucasicum (Willd.) Hayek, etc. A small brook passes through the peat bog and drains into the Vodniza River (Tonkov et al. 2018). The climate above 1000 m is montane and at an elevation of 1800 to 1900 m a.s.l. the mean January temperature is −6 °C and the mean August temperature 11.4 °C. The highest annual precipitation reaches 2000 mm at 1300–2400 m a.s.l., much of it as snow (Velev 2002). Sediment description