Little is known regarding the significance for local people of peri-urban national parks as recreational areas. The main goal of the present article is to evaluate the social impact and importance of peri-urban parks for visitors as a green space for outdoor recreation. For this investigation on-site, face-to-face interviews were conducted. The main reason for visiting NP are: “to be near to nature” (64.71%), “to practice sport” (58.09%) and “relaxing” (43.38%). Spending time in NP is considered by most interviewed people to be of crucial importance both for physical (96.32%) and for mental (83.82%) health. It should be noted that high frequency of park visits was reported only by young, employed and well-educated people. Data collected shows that park management plan should encourage low-income groups (unemployed and elderly) to use outdoor recreation as a part of preventive healthcare. The access for older adults, people with disabilities and children to the park should be facilitated. Services like access to clean water, toilets and seating places must be improved. The data from the authors' survey could be useful for the peri-urban national parks development as green spaces for promoting health among all demographic groups of local inhabitants.

Increasing attention has been paid recently to soil pollution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ecological risk of soils collected from Nature Park Shumen Plateau (Bulgaria) (NP) using physicochemical and cytogenetic approaches (pH analysis, analysis of the content of heavy metals included in Bulgarian soil pollution standards, and Allium cepa-test). Soil samples from NP were collected from seven sites. A sample from a heavily anthropogenic-influenced urban site was also collected. As signs for environmental risk used pH values, we found total concentration of heavy metals and mitotic abnormalities in Allium cepa root meristems included in Bulgarian legislation. Only two samples from NP were found to be slightly acidic. The other samples have slightly alkaline pH. The highest pH value was obtained in the urban sample. Heavy metal concentrations did not exceeded national standards for soil pollution. Several NP samples and urban samples exerted cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in Allium root meristems. Our data on soil pH and heavy metal concentrations did not indicate potential ecological risk, but cytogenetic endpoints showed the presence of harmful compounds in studied areas. In conclusion, the ecological risk for the investigated suburban area may be assessed as moderate.

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The green areas play a significant role in keeping the urban population healthy. Consequently, there has been a growing interest in the urban and peri-urban parks lately. The Nature Park Shumen plateau and Shumen City Park are an important green area for residents of Shumen city. The aim of this study was to make comparative analysis of the qualities of the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park as green spaces. For quality assessment 10 criteria were used. The criteria were grouped in four categories - Green space placement, Green space use, Environment and Biodiversity. Five-point Likert scale was used to determine satisfaction with each of the 10 criteria. Nine experts did the evaluation of the criteria. In category “Green space placement”, the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park had very similar evaluations however there were big differences in the individual criteria. According to the category “Green space use, both parks showed rather similar results. Concerning the category „Environment”, the Nature Park Shumen Plateau received slightly higher assessment and the category “Biodiversity” was ranked as twice higher. The results show that the Nature Park Shumen Plateau and the Shumen City Park possess good quality as a green area, as the Nature Park Shumen Plateau was higher assessed compared to the Shumen City Park.

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Abstract:Sedentary lifestyle has become a great concern to human health. City parks play a great role in the solution of this problem, but exposure to urban pollutants leads to the necessity to monitor environmental quality. Purpose of Study The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of soil samples collected from Shumen city park using Allium cepa L.-test. Methods The following microscopic parameters were used: mitotic index, index of each phase of mitotic division, mitotic abnormalities and interphase cells with micronuclei or two nuclei. Findings and Results The decline of the mitotic activity and changes in the proportion of mitotic phases indicate soil cytotoxicity. Various mitotic abnormalities and binucleated cells revealed genotoxicity. Conclusions and Recommendations Established cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of soil revealed a potential health risk to park users. Further analyses should be provided, since positive results from Allium-test serve as an alarm.UDC Classification: 502/504; DOI: http://dx

The Bulgarian Bent-toed Gecko (Mediodactylus danilewskii Strauch, 1887) is one of the two species of geckos inhabiting the territory of Bulgaria. In the recent years, new information on its distribution was published and big amount of data were collected. We organized an information platform for sharing data on the biology and live-range of M. danilewskii in inland North-East Bulgaria. This gecko is a highly synanthropic species which is often observed by citizens. Here we report on four new observation spots and also confirm the presence of the species from recently published localities. All data were recorded by volunteers, hence we discuss on the methods for documentation of the specimens and the critical role of the citizen science to assess the range of distribution of the species.

Anthropogenic activities cause environmental pollution and alter biogeochemical cycles. Soils in cities and their vicinity are exposed to different pollutants. Nature Park Shumen Plateau is a protected area situated in the proximity of Shumen (Bulgaria). The aim of this research was to compare elemental composition of surface soil samples from Nature Park with two areas in Shumen city. Soil samples from seven sites on the territory of Nature Park and from two urban sites were collected. The elemental composition of the samples was determined using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence technique. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were performed to interpret the complex data. The content of 24 elements was determined: Br, Y, Zr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, La, Ce Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Rb, Sr, and Pb. Results presented here and previously showed that concentrations of heavy metals Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb are below the upper limit according to Bulgarian legislation. Concentrations of Mn and Fe in samples from Nature Park were comparable to the literature data reported for unpolluted areas. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis show similarity of the content of 24 elements between samples from Nature Park and from Shumen city. These findings are in accordance with our previous positive results from Allium-test: cytogenetic endpoints showed a presence of harmful compounds in Nature Park soils. The content of heavy metals in the surface soils studied show a lack of environmental risk for Nature Park. However, a similar distribution pattern of the investigated elements in the park and two anthropologically influenced areas in Shumen city indicated a potential hazard in Nature Park.