University of Forestry
Forestry Faculty
Dendrology Department

Born in 1976 in Sofia.

EDUCATION:

2007-1010: PostDoc research in the WSL-SLF in Davos (Switzerland), Forest and Treeline Ecotone Group. I was focused on Norway spruce forests in "Parangalitca" Nature Reserve in Rila Mountains. The main tasks are were acquire more knowledge about the disturbances and self-thinning processes in the site.

2003-2006: PhD Student, Dendrology Department, University of Forestry, Sofia, Bulgaria
Ph.D. thesis: "STUDY OF ECOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCE ON THE GROWTH OF THE TREE SPECIES FROM PINACEAE FAMILY AT THE TREELINE ZONE"
Advisor: Dr. S.Yurukov

2000: I graduated the University of Forestry and obtained a diploma of Master of Science in Forestry
Master thesis: "Research of the Avalanche Activity on the North-Western Slope of Todorka Peak, Pirin Mountains"
Advisor: Dr. D. Zakov
Average GPA: 5.61 (out of 6.00)

1995: I graduated The “First English Language School” in Sofia, Bulgaria.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

• Natural dynamics and Disturbances in subalpine forests - I have done studies on the disturbance regime and natural dynamics in the Norway spruce forests in "Parangalitca" Nature Reserve in Rila Mountains, the "Bistrishko branishte" Nature reserve in Vitosha Mountains and "Beglika" Nature Reserve in the Rhodopes Mountains. I have also studied the disturbance regime of old-growth Pinus peuce and Pinus heldreichii forests in the Pirin National park. Results are available in the publications (please, see below).
• Natural disturbances at the treeline areas in the highest Bulgarian Mountains. Among these I am most interested in:
  • Influence of strong winds on the growth of natural treeline forests and afforestations.
  • Influence of snow accumulation due to wind transport on the growth of natural treeline forests and afforestations.
  • Avalanche influence on treeline forests.
• Dendroecological analysis of old forests:
  • Luckily for me and my colleagues we have the possibility to study some very old and preserved forests at thesubalpine and treeline areas. They are composed of Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) and the very interesting (and often old) Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.) and Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii Christ.) Above the treeline there are dense communities of the dwarf form of Mountain pine (Pinus mugo Turra ssp. Mugo).

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES:

• Research of natural disturbances and self-thinning processes in Norway spruce ecosystems in reserves in Bulgaria

Short information: The aim of the studies is gain knowledge about the disturbance history and mortality processes in natural Picea abies forests in Bulgaria, and gives the chance to study the dynamics of not-influenced by man forests.

Projects on this topic: Subalpine forest development in Bulgarian Mountain Forests under climate change, Natural disturbances and natural dynamics in Norway spruce forests (Picea abies Karst), "Naturliche Dynamik von Lawinenschutzwaldern"

• Research of limiting factors at treeline afforestations on Vitosha Mountain

Short information: The aim of the study is to determine the influence of strong winds and snow accumulations on the growth of Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst) plantations at the treeline, Vitosha Mountain. It was a part of my PhD research. Please follow this link to learn more about this study.

• Research of avalanches along the Northwestern slope of Todorka Peak, Pirin mountains

Short information: The aim of the study is to date the falling of big avalanches along the Northwestern slope of Todorka peak, Pirin mountains and to determine their influence on natural treeline forests of Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.) Please follow this link to learn more about this study.

• Study of the limiting factors at natural treeline Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) forests and groups in "Bistrishko braniste" reserve, Vitosha mountain

Short information: The aim of the study is to find more information about natural Norway spruce groups above the treeline in "Bistrishko braniste" reserve and to date and determine the influence of natural disturbances on the treeline forests."

Momchil Panayotov in front of Pinus heldreichii tree in Pirin mountains

• Research of old Bosnian pine (Pinus helreichii Christ.) forests

  Short information: The aim of the study is acquire more information about natural Pinus heldreichii forests, their development in the past and possibly to restore climate conditions in previous centuries. First chronologies are ready and under analysis. They are composed of trees of 200 to 500 years of age (max 800). There is potential of finding older trees. Initial work shows good correlation between samples and indication of drought conditions. Please, follow this link to learn more about the studies...

PUBLICATIONS:

Panayotov, M., Gogushev, G., Tsavkov, E., Vasileva, P., Tsvetanov, N., Kulakowski, D., Bebi, P. (submitted). Abiotic disturbances in Bulgarian mountain coniferous forests – an overview. Forest Ecology and Management, special issue

Panayotov, M., Kulakowski, D., Tsvetanov,N., Krumm, F., Berbeito, I., Bebi, P. (2016). Climate extremesduring high competition contribute to mortality in unmanagedself-thinning Norway spruce stands in Bulgaria. Forest Ecologyand Management 369: 74-88.

Vasileva, P. & Panayotov, M. (2016).Dating fire events in Pinus heldreichii forests by analysisof tree ring cores. Dendrochronologia, 38: 98–102. doi:10.1016/j.dendro.2016.04.001

Cook, Edward R., Richard Seager, YochananKushnir, Keith R. Briffa, Ulf Buntgen, David Frank, PaulJ. Krusic, Willy Tegel, Gerard van der Schrier, Laia Andreu-Hayles,Mike Baillie, Claudia Baittinger, Niels Bleicher, NielsBonde, David Brown, Marco Carrer, Richard Cooper, KatarinaCufar, Christoph Dittmar, Jan Esper, Carol Griggs, BjornGunnarson, Bjorn Gunther, Emilia Gutierrez, Kristof Haneca,Samuli Helama, Franz Herzig, Karl-Uwe Heussner, Jutta Hofmann,Pavel Janda, Raymond Kontic, Nesibe Kose, Tomas Kyncl, TomLevanic, Hans Linderholm, Sturt Manning, Thomas M. Melvin,Daniel Miles, Burkhard Neuwirth, Kurt Nicolussi, Paola Nola,Momchil Panayotov, Ionel Popa, Andreas Rothe, Kristina Seftigen,Andrea Seim, Helene Svarva, Miroslav Svoboda, Terje Thun,Mauri Timonen, Ramzi Touchan, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, ValerieTrouet, Felix Walder, Tomasz Wazny, Rob Wilson and ChristianZang (2015) Old World megadroughts and pluvials during theCommon Era. Science Advances, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500561

Panayotov, M., Bebi, P., Tsvetanov,N., Alexandrov, N., Laranjeiro, L. and Kulakowski, D. (2015).The disturbance regime of Norway spruce forests in Bulgaria.Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 45(9): 1143-1153,doi: 1143-1153, 10.1139/cjfr-2014-0505

Seim, A.., Treydte, K.., Trouet, V.,Frank, D., Fonti, P., Tegel, W., Panayotov, M., Fernandez,Donado, L., Krusic, P. and Buntgen, U. (2014) Climate sensitivityof Mediterranean pine growth reveals distinct east–westdipole. International Journal of Climatology (Impact Factor:3.4). 09/2014; DOI: 10.1002/joc.4137

Panayotov, M., Zafirov, N. and Cherubini,P. (2013) Fingerprints of extreme climate events in Pinussylvestris tree rings from Bulgaria. Trees-Structureand Function. 27(1):211-227, doi: 10.1007/s00468-012-0789-1

Babst, F., Poulter, B., Trouet, V., Tan, K., Neuwirth, B., Wilson, R., Carrer, M., Grabner,M., Tegel, W., Levanic, T., Panayotov, M., Urbinati, C.,Bouriaud, O., Ciais, P., Frank, D. (2013), Site- and species-specificresponses of forest growth to climate across the Europeancontinent. Global Ecology and Biogeography. 22: 706-717,doi: 10.1111/geb.12023

Ivanova, A., Todorova, Y., Rangelova,P. and Panayotov, M. (2013) Xylogenesis of Pinus heldreichiiand Pinus peuce in Pirin Mts. Bulgarian Journal of AgriculturalScience, 19 (2) 2013, 229–232

Panayotov M. and V. Shishkova, 2013.Pinus nigra Arn. tree ring chronology from SlavyankaMts. in Bulgaria is strongly related to regional droughtevents Forestry Ideas, 2013, vol. 19, No 1 (45): 79–90, PDF file

Rangelova, P. and Panayotov, M., 2013.Structure of old-growth Pinus heldreichii forestsin Pirin Mountains. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., Supplement 2,19: 273–276, PDF file

Shishkova, V. and M. Panayotov, 2013.Climate-growth relationship of Pinus nigra tree-ringwidth chronology from the Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria. Bulg.J. Agric. Sci., Supplement 2, 19: 225–228, PDF file

Trouet V, Panayotov M, Ivanova A, FrankD (2012) A pan-European summer teleconnection mode recordedby a new temperature reconstruction from the northeasternMediterranean (ad 1768–2008). The Holocene 22:887-898. doi:10.1177/0959683611434225

Babst, F., Poulter, B., Trouet, V.,Tan, K., Neuwirth, B., Wilson, R., Carrer, M., Grabner,M., Tegel, W., Levanic, T., Panayotov, M., Urbinati, C.,Bouriaud, O., Ciais, P., Frank, D. (2012), Site- and species-specificresponses of forest growth to climate across the Europeancontinent. Global Ecology and Biogeography. doi:10.1111/geb.12023

Panayotov, M., Kulakowski, D., Laranjeiro,D.S. and Bebi, P. 2011. Wind disturbances shape old Norwayspruce-dominated forest in Bulgaria. Forest Ecology andManagement, 262 (1): 470–481, doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.04.013

Panayotov, M (2011) Avalanches on thenorthwestern slope of peak Todorka (Pirin Mts, SW Bulgaria)and their influence on forests. Phytologia Balcanica 17(2): 237-246

Panayotov, M., Dimitrov, D. and Yurukov,S. (2011). Extreme climate conditions in Bulgaria - evidencefrom Picea abies tree rings. Sylva Balcanica 12(1): 37-46; PDF

Panayotov, M., Bebi, P., Trouet, V.,and Yurukov, S. (2010) Climate signal in tree-ring chronologiesof Pinus peuce and Pinus heldreichii fromthe Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria. Trees - Structure and Function,24: 479-490, 24: 479-490DOI: 10.1007/s00468-010-0416-y

Panayotov, M. and Yurukov, S. (2008)Pinus peuce and Pinus heldreichii tree ringsas a key to past mountain climate in Southeastern Europe.Proceedings of TRACE2008 conference: 71-77, PDF file

Panayotov, M.P. and Yurukov, S. (2007)Tree ring chronology from Pinus peuce in PirinMts and the possibilities to use it for climate analysis. Phytologia Balcanica, 13(3): 313-320, PDF file

Panayotov, M.P. (2007) Determinationof avalanche events by analysis of tree rings of Pinus peuce. Econological Engineering and Environmental Protection, No.1:75-82; in Bulgarian, English abstract; PDF file

Panayotov, M. (2006) STUDY OF ECOLOGICALFACTORS INFLUENCE ON THE GROWTH OF THE TREE SPECIES FROMPINACEAE FAMILY AT THE TREELINE ZONE - PhD thesis - Extended abstract (in Bulgarian, English resume, PDF- 3 MB) andFull text (in Bulgarian, PDF, 11 MB)

Panayotov, M.P. (2005) Dendroecological analysis of the influence of extreme climate events. Forestry Ideas, 2005, in Bulgarian, English abstract - PDF file, 0.6 MB

Panayotov M., S. Yurukov (2005): Dendroecologicalanalysis of the influence of strong winds and snow accumulationon the growth of trees at the treeline in Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria. Tree Rings in Archaeology, Climatology and Ecology (TRACE 2005) Proceedings, April 21st-23d 2005, Fribourg,Switzerland: 164-173 - abstract and full text (PDF file) available.

Panayotov M. (2005): Influence of strong winds and snow accumulation on the growth and development of Macedonian pine (Pinus peuce Griseb.) plantations in the treeline zone of Vitosha Mountain. "Young Scientists"Conference Proceedings, May 17-19th 2005, Sofia, Bulgaria. (PDF file, Bulgarian language, abstract in English. 1,5 MB)

Yurukov S.,Panayotov M., E.Tsavkov andP. Zhelev. (2005). Dendrological characteristic of Bosnianpine (Pinus heldreichii Christ) on karst terrainsin "Pirin" National Park. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference "Protected Karst Territories– Conditions, Problems, Perspectives", 18-21. Oct.2005, Shumen, Bulgaria. (PDF file, Bulgarian language, abstract in English. 0,5 MB)

Books and chapters in books:
Panayotov, M. and Menteshev, B.(2013) Avalanche safety – a handbook for skiers and snowboarders.Second edition BEFSA, 64 pp
Panayotov, M., Jordanov, B., Botev, B., Boyadzhiev, N. andZagorov, M. (2010) Ten most popular routes for ski and snowshoestourism in Vitosha. Vitosha NP and Secret Trails. 67 pp.
Popyordanov, L., Damyanov, M., Demirev, K., Georgiev, K.,Bilyarski, S., Stoyanov, Y., Kovacheva, V., Todorov, V.,Gospodinova, L. and Panayotov, M., (2008) Close to the mountainsa guidebook of the mountain guide and the good mountaineer.Odysseia-In, 2-d edition; 296 pp
Panayotov, M. (2005) Avalanche safety – a handbook for skiersand snowboarders. BEFSA, 64 pp
Popyordanov, L., Damyanov, M., Stoyanov, Y., Todorov, V.,Georgiev, K., Shipkova, K., Panayotov, M., Todorov, T. andGospodinova, L., (2005) Close to the mountains a guidebookof the mountain guide and the good mountaineer. Odysseia-In,248 pp

Other publications (popular magazines):
Panayotov, M. (2011) Avalanches– a challenge for the forester. Gora, 4: 16-17; in Bulgarian
Panayotov, M., Tsvetanov, N. and Nikolova, N. (2010) Thegiants of Parangalitsa. Gora, 5: 17-19; in Bulgarian
Panayotov, M. (2010) Why did you fall avalanches? Whiteroom,No. 12, 128-131; in Bulgarian
Panayotov, M. (2008) Avalanches in the spring. Whiteroom,No. 10: 127-128; in Bulgarian
Panayotov, M., Alexandrov, N., (2008). Natural disturbancesin mountain forests – challenges
and opportunities for silviculture. Gora, No. 5

Reviewing:
Forest Ecology and Management,European Journal of Forest Research, Dendrochronologia,Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Annals of Forest Science,Trees – Structure and function, Earth Surface Processesand Landforms

WHAT ELSE:
I am a great fan of outdoor activities and sports like skiing,mountain biking, mountaineering, hiking, windsurfing.

As one of the keenest fans offreeride skiing in Bulgaria, I am among the founders ofthe Bulgarian Extreme and FreeSkiing Association (BEFSA).I have a lot of activities in this organization like:

• Leader of the “Education Program for Safe Practicing of Winter Sports”, which translated to normal language means that I am very interested in avalanche awareness education and have taken the responsibility of BEFSA's attempts to bring more knowledge to the young freeriders and make their contact with fresh snow safer. As such, I have been lecturer on avalanche awareness courses (2003 - up to now) and author of the book “Avalanche safety - handbook for skiers and snowboarders” published in 2004 by BEFSA. I have also published a lot of information in the form os small (and not so small) articles in popular Bulgarian magazines and news papers.
• Participant in the organization committees of the International Big Mountain competitions held in Bansko ski resort in 2002 and 2003.
• Director of organization of "The Mad Goat Ride" international freeride competition held in February 2004 in Bansko ski resort.
• Webmaster of the website of the Bulgarian Extreme and FreeSkiing Association - http://befsa.com.
• Member of the Mountain Rescue Service of Bulgaria, Sofia Team

Contacts:

Dr. Momchil Panayotov Panayotov
University of Forestry
Forestry Faculty
Dendrology Department
Kl.Ohridski 10 Blvd.
1797 Sofia, Bulgaria

e-mail: mp2@ abv.bg (Please note: there is an empty space after the "@" symbol. You have to remove it to send e-mail)