Postojna-Planina Cave System - Slovenia

Basic Information
Site Name
Postojna-Planina Cave System
Short name
PPCS
Country
Slovenia
Web Address
LTER Slovenia
Operating Organisation
Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU
Site Manager
Matej Blatnik
Site Description
Postojnska jama is a part of the Postojna-Planina cave system (PPCS), the most biologically diverse cave in the world. Postojnska jama is a locus typicus of at least 37 animals, among them also cave beetle Leptodirus hochenwarti, the first recognized cave adapted animal. PPCS consisting of 17 and 6 km of passages, respectively, connected by 2 km of flooded corridors, the PPCS has more known species of stygobionts than any other cave or other subterranean site. The sinking river in the main passages is inhabited by a rich assortment of stygobionts, stygophiles, and accidental surface species. Both streams drain a catchment area of over 800 km2. Above the cave passages is the rich epikarst community. Among the 48 stygobionts is the ...
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Last modified
2025-01-07 11:01:56

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2008
Observed properties
ecosystem parameteratmospheric parameterwater parameterchemical parameterlandscape parameterbiological parametergenetic parameterphysical parameteranimalspeciesabundanceanimalspeciespresencebacteriaabundancebacteriapresencebacterialdiversitybioticdiversityfaunisticdiversitylandcovertypemicrobialdiversityspeciesabundancespeciescompositionspecieslistspeciespresenceairtemperaturecarbondioxideconcentrationmaximumtemperaturemeanannualairtemperaturemeanannualprecipitationmeanannualtemperatureminimumtemperaturerelativehumiditywinddirectionammoniumcontentavailablephosphoruscurrentspeedelectricalconductivitygroundwaterlevelrainfallvariabilityrivertemperaturewaterdepthwatertemperatureammoniumcontentbasecationscontentinwaterchemicalcompositionofwaterdissolvedorganicnitrogendissolvedorganicphosphorusoxygensaturationpHvalueofwaterlandcoverlandusebiologicaldiversityDNAsequencespecificconductivity
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTER✔ (LTER_EU_SI_002_001)This site is a verified "ILTER" member.
LTER Europe✔ (LTER_EU_SI_002_001)This site is a verified "LTER Europe" member.
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
LTER Slovenia✔ (LTER_EU_SI_002_001)This site is a verified "LTER Slovenia" member.
Projects
Natura 2000
eLTER (H2020)
eLTER catalogue
eLTER PLUS (H2020) - RA
eLTER PLUS (H2020) - TA
Photos
Planina Cave
Planina Cave
Geographic
10 km
5 mi
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 45.782493 Longitude: 14.203526

Size
ca. 80000.00ha
Elevation (average)
680.00msl
Elevation (min)
450.00msl
Elevation (max)
1800.00msl
Download

Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Fresh water rivers
Terrestrial
Biome
Fresh Water Rivers
Ecosystem Type
Rivers
Large rivers
Biogeographical Region
Continental Bio-geographical Region
EUNIS habitat
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Terrestrial underground caves, cave systems, passages and waterbodies (H1)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Terrestrial underground caves, cave systems, passages and waterbodies (H1) » Cave entrances (H1.1)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Terrestrial underground caves, cave systems, passages and waterbodies (H1) » Cave interiors (H1.2)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Terrestrial underground caves, cave systems, passages and waterbodies (H1) » Dark underground passages (H1.3)
Inland unvegetated or sparsely vegetated habitats (H) » Terrestrial underground caves, cave systems, passages and waterbodies (H1) » Underground running waterbodies (H1.6)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
10.00°C
Precipitation Annual
1800.00mm
Geology
The Postojna-Planina Cave System is developed in Cretaceous carbonate rocks. The passages of Postojna Cave are developed in upper Cretaceous mostly bedded and thick-bedded limestones. The Planina Cave System is developed in lower and upper Cretaceous limestone and dolomite.
Hydrology
The PPCS has approximately 23 km of surveyed passage (17 in Postojna Cave and 6 in Planina Cave connected by 2 km of flooded passage) developed in Upper Cretaceous carbonate rocks and overlain mostly by forested land. There are two main cave streams in PPCS which join and eventually resurge to the surface through the Planina Cave entrance at the Unica River. One cave stream is fed by the Pivka River, a moderate-sized river draining approximately 230 km2 of carbonate and flysch which sinks near the Postojna Cave entrance. The other, smaller cave stream (Rak) is a smaller stream fed by multiple sinking streams and groundwater that drains approximately 27 km2 of carbonate and flysch.
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
partly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
plot within catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Equipment
Maintenance infrastructure » Snow clearing frequency » Daily
Observation devices » Measurement tower » No tower on site
Observation devices » Temperature Controlled Container
Data infrastructure » Data services » Other data services
Data infrastructure » Data storage » XML database
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Unstructured file
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Spatial data file (GIS)
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Vehicle 4WD
Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » 1 place
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » Unknown number of beds
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » 1 - 5 beds
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Cable based
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Energy supply » Permanent Power Supply Location » Central station(s)
Accessible All Year
Yes
All parts of Site Accessible
Yes
Access Type
regular car
Permanent Operation
Yes
Site Visit Interval
1
Maintenance Interval
30
General Data Policy
Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset
The data provider must be offered co-authorship for publications using this dataset at least within the metadata description
Formal acknowledgement of the dataset providers
The opportunity to collaborate on the project using the dataset
Legal permission for dataset use is obtained
Mutual agreement on reciprocal sharing of data
LTER Site Classification
Regular
Related Resources on DEIMS-SDR
3 dataset(s) in total:
Microclimate monitoring in Postojna-Planina cave system Slovenia (2016-04-15_ 2017-06-15)
Spatial variability of temperature in cave system
Temporal variability of temperature in cave system
There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:
Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Precipitation ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave RadiationRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind SpeedRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.