Environmental research

Soil degradation, water and intensive wind erosion are highly accentuated in the suburbs of the town of Sungurlare. These phenomenons are probably due to improper agricultural management, uncontrolled pasture, and wood devastation. The authors of these project face the challenge to prevent soil degradation through cultivation of special log-wood plantations as an alternative of the natural trees. The energy biomass plantations should simultaneously be used as protection zones due to their construction (various species, levels, specific cultivation regimes), punctual management, and proper use. The protection zones would provide beneficial microclimate by wind reduction, snowstorage, and the consequtive augmented soil humidity. The process of erosion should be limited, and the productivity and fertility of the agricultural fields is going to grow higher providing enormous local community benefit. Recent ecologically tested management approaches will be used in the process of protection zones cultivation based on agro-forestry systems of integrated erosion reductive zones and agricultural fields. These systems would most facilitate agricultural workers from the lowest social strata and will provide further terrains for bee-industry and rural tourism. The agro-forestry systems may be use as models for future multiplication. Most comprehensive public information on the problems of soil degradation and global climate change will be provided with the idea of attracting local residents in the agro-forestry system management. Thus, a strong community supply will be educated in providing proper plantation and wood economy and management. The fire wood and open fields protection will be based on more scientific principles, which will reduce the risk of poison flue gases air pollution. The biomass cultivation will help restoring and encourage greater biodiversity as some animal and plant relics will be attracted back and/or kept in their natural surrounding. On the contrary, the process of wood devastation, soil degradation, biodiversity reduction, and limitation of the social-economic status of the local community will be encouraged by the rejection or cancellation of this project. The project venue is the Babaliata site at the territory of the State Forestry of Karnobat (dep. 358 1 and 2, dep. 359 2). The project plays an essential role for the local community of 20 000 inhabitants, which will benefit from the wood plantations and the establishment of funtional ecosystems. Three hundred people will be encourage to take part in the project as they will be involved in the process of plantation afforesting and management. The long-term benefits from the project realization include soil degradation prevention, wood productivity augmentation, energy wood supply production, and best recreation facilities construction. Total project budget: 132 214 BGN, out of which tender sum provided by GEF 56 954 BGN, sum, provided by the Professionalism for health and ecology Association 21 700 BGN, sum, provided by the community of Karnobat 49 560 BGN, sum, provided by the Centre for agriculture Association 4 000 BGN.

Bulgaria