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 100 km2. Above the cave passages is the rich epikarst community. Among the 48 stygobionts is the European cave salamander Proteus anguinus anguinus. Both the snail (8 species) and crustacean (16 species) faunas are rich. The marine origin of some of the stygobiotic species is evident in the hydrozoan Velkovrhia enigmatica and the cirolanid isopod Monolistra racovitzae racovitzae. Three species of the amphipod genus Niphargus as well as populations of Asellus aquaticus were isolated in the cave at different times. The Postojna-Planina Cave is one of the best-studied caves in the world, and parts of it have been heavily visited by tourists since 1818. There are currently installed underground meteorological stations, and sites are defined for permanent water and biodiversity monitoring with the respect to human impact.

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General Characteristics, Purpose, History

Site Status:

existing

Year Site Established:

2008

Size :

10.00ha

Purpose of Site :

Research follows multidisciplinary research. Cave climate observation (with purpose to characterize (micro) meteorologic and climatic patterns) includes setting up and maintenance of cave meteorological stations, data analysis and modelling, as well as measurement of environmental parameters, like air and water temperature, humidity, air pressure, direction and intensity of air flow and CO2 concentration. Monitoring of stream water and percolation water includes regular measurement and analysis of various biological, ecological and physico-chemical parameters. Anthropogenic impact and tourist use is monitored using air parameters (e.g., temperature, pressure, CO2,) and surface bioburden indicators. Research on karst hydrogeology characterizes groundwater flow and solute transport in karst aquifers by long-term and event-based analyses. In addition, remote sensing data analyses are used.

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Geographic

Coordinates:

Latitude: 45.775100000000
Longitude: 14.213400000000

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Site Details

Ecosystem and Environmental Characteristics

Elevation Range FROM:

511.00msl

Elevation Range TO:

753.00msl

Elevation - Average:

680.00msl

Temperature Range (Monthly Minimum) FROM:

-5.00°C

Temperature Range (Monthly Maximum) TO :

25.00°C

Temperature: Average Annual:

10.00°C

Precipitation Minimum Monthly :

0.00mm

Precipitation Annual :

1 800.00mm

Precipitation Maximum Monthly :

53.00mm

Biome :

Fresh Water Rivers

GEO-BON Biome:

Fresh water rivers

Terrestrial

Ecosystem and Land Use:

Rivers
Large rivers

Biogeographic Region:

Subalpine

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.

eLTER Parameters

eLTER Parameters:

Network Affiliation

Networks/Projects:

LTER
eLTER (H2020)
eLTER catalogue
Natura 2000

Site Type (Spatial Design):

Complex Site

Short name :

PPCS

LTER related

LTER Site Code:

LTER_EU_SI_002_001

LTER Site Classification/Category:

Regular

Protection Status and Resource Management

Natura 2000

75 - 100%

Management of Resources :

Yes

Management of Resources - Percent of Site:

50 - 75%

Management of Resources - Notes:

Tourism

Design and Scale of Site

Scale of Observation:

plot within catchment

Design of Observation:

mainly observation

Scale of Experiments:

catchment scale

Design of Experiments:

partly experimentation

Infrastructure

Value of the Infrastructure :

Less than 50 k

Accessible All Year :

Yes

All parts of Site Accessible:

Yes

Access Type:

regular car

Permanent Power Supply:

Yes

Infrastructure:

Maintenance infrastructure › Snow clearing frequency › Daily
Energy and data infrastructure › Data transmission › Data Transmission Type (from Site) › Cable based
Energy and data infrastructure › Energy supply › Permanent Power Supply Location › Central station(s)
Supporting infrastructure › Lodging at site › 1 - 5 beds
Supporting infrastructure › Lodging at site › Unknown number of beds
Supporting infrastructure › Staff room at site › > 2 places
Supporting infrastructure › Transportation › Vehicle 4WD
Observation device › Measurement tower › No tower on site
Observation device › Temperature Controlled Container
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Unstructured file
Data infrastructure › Data storage › Spatial data file (GIS)
Data infrastructure › Data storage › XML database

Operation

Operations Cost:

Less than 10 k

Permanent Operation:

Yes

Sampling Interval:

Every 1 days

Maintenance Interval:

Every 30 days

Data Management

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

Data Storage Location :

Distributed within Institution

Number of data storage locations :

Data Storage Format :

XML Database

Data services :

Other data service

Data Request Format :

Offline (Mail or Telephone)

Associated Data

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