The „Carol” line: assessing the importance of 150+ deserted bunkers for the conservation of the Romanian-Hungarian cross-border bat fauna (2016-2017)

Print-friendly version

The project aims to assess the level of importance posed by 150+ deserted bunkers, representing the former „Carol” defence line, for the local (Romanian), and migratory (Hungarian-Romanian) bat fauna. The goal was to strenghten the conservation of the Romanian-Hungarian cross-border bat fauna.

After the completion of all field work, the project demonstrated the presence of 12 bat species along the Carol fortified line, including three focal species: B.
barbastellus, M. myotis and R. ferrumequinum, and an additional, strictly protected species, M. schreibersii. Even if no nursery colony was discovered (due to the fact that these bunkers do not provide suitable microclimatic conditions for the formation of “warm” nurseries), the bunker remains seem to be important
stopovers in the migration season, as demonstrated by the presence, in April 2017, of a group of M. schreibersii (34 bats) and two additional species. The
Southern Carol line has the highest species diversity along the fortified line, with 9 species present in the bunkers and the area. The Northern Carol line ends at a
high quality and diverse feeding habitat, with an artificial lake and deciduous forest, where, among others, the presence of M. daubentonii and P. nathusii was
proven. Results of the project were presented to the general public, regional and local decision makers in the Carol line area, as well as to the scientific community.
These presentations always included the necessity of protecting these sites, both for the bat fauna present and their historical value.