Iskanje po repozitoriju

A+ | A- | | SLO | ENG

Povzetek: Beneath the Earth’s surface lies a network of interconnected caves, voids, and systems of fissures forming in rocks of sed-imentary, igneous, or metamorphic origin. Although largely inaccessible to humans, this hidden realm supports and reg-ulates services critical to ecological health and human well-being. Subterranean ecosystems are integral to majorbiogeochemical cycles, sustain diverse surface habitats, and serve as the primary source of irrigation and drinking water.They also offer non-material benefits, including scientific discovery, education, and cultural practices. Yet, these contri-butions often go unrecognised, partly due to the lack of a unified synthesis of ecosystem services across terrestrial, fresh-water, and marine subterranean compartments. This gap limits effective communication of their value to scientists,practitioners, and the public. Through a systematic expert-based review, we show that subterranean ecosystems contrib-ute to up to 75% of classified ecosystem services. Notably, many of these contributions are described only qualitatively,lacking numerical or economic quantification. Next, we list examples of the main ecosystem services provided by subter-ranean systems to offer a global overview of their multifaceted value and vulnerability to environmental change. Webelieve this synthesis provides researchers and practitioners with concrete examples to communicate more effectivelythe importance of subterranean ecosystems to diverse audiences.
Ključne besede: groundwater, hypogean, nature value, drinking water, food production, biotechnology, geothermal energy, sustainability, ecotourism, cultural heritage
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 02.03.2026; Ogledov: 106; Prenosov: 91
Celotno besedilo (70,04 KB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: Caves are recognized as biodiversity hotspots for groundwater fauna, including obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods (Crustacea: Copepoda), exhibiting high species richness, endemism, and phylogenetic rarity. However, the extent to which caves alone provide a representative estimate of copepod species richness in karst areas remains uncertain. Taking advantage of the recently published EGCop dataset, the first expert-validated, Europe-wide occurrence dataset for obligate groundwater-dwelling copepods (hereinafter, GW copepods), this study investigates the distribution of GW copepods into karst areas, comparing species richness in caves versus other karst groundwater habitats (e.g., springs, karst streams, artificial wells), within and among the European karst units. The main aims are: (i) identifying karst areas which represent hotpots of GW copepod species richness; (ii) assessing to which extent caves, as open windows to the subterranean environments, contribute to define hotspots of GW copepods’ species richness into karst areas across Europe. EGCop comprises 6,986 records from 588 copepod species/subspecies distributed among four orders: Cyclopoida (3,664 records, 184 species), Harpacticoida (3,288 records, 395 species), Calanoida (32 records, seven species), and Gelyelloida (two records, two species). To perform geospatial analyses, we filtered the dataset by: (i) selecting only the records with spatial uncertainty in the associated coordinates lower than 10 km; (ii) searching for those records falling within, or very close to, the polygons representing European karst areas. Species richness hotspots were then estimated through geospatial analyses in geographic information system (GIS) environment. Within the selected records, those specifically referring to karst habitats (2,526 records, 369 species) are primarily represented by Harpacticoida (1,199 records, 228 species) and Cyclopoida (1,293 records, 132 species). Among species collected from karst habitats, records from caves (1,867, 73.9%) belong to 318 species (Harpacticoida = 189, Cyclopoida = 122, Calanoida = 7), representing 86.1% of the total species richness of karst habitats. Geospatial analyses reveal that the European hotspots of GW copepods’ species richness recorded exclusively in caves reflect the spatial arrangement of postglacial refugia in southern karst regions, though representing a subset of the broader diversity found across all karst groundwater habitats. Our findings highlight that the contribution of cave systems in groundwater biodiversity assessments and related conservation planning may vary depending on the evolution and morphologies of the target karst regions—often pointing to a high representativeness of caves for subterranean biodiversity, sometimes revealing their lower explanatory power within the broader karst systems.
Ključne besede: copepoda, groundwater, biodiversity, datasets, caves, karst, Europe
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 19.12.2025; Ogledov: 327; Prenosov: 256
Celotno besedilo (22,11 MB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: Beneath the Earth’s surface lies a network of interconnected caves, voids, and systems of fissures forming in rocks of sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic origin. Though largely inaccessible to humans, this hidden realm supports and regulates services critical to ecological health and human well-being. Subterranean ecosystems are integral to major biogeochemical cycles, sustain diverse surface habitats, and serve as the primary source of irrigation and drinking water. They also offer non-material benefits, including scientific discovery, education, and cultural practices. Yet, these contributions often go unrecognized, partly due to the lack of a unified synthesis of ecosystem services across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine subterranean compartments. This gap limits effective communication of their value to scientists, practitioners, and the public. Through a systematic expert-based review, we show that subterranean ecosystems contribute to up to 75% of classified ecosystem services. Notably, many of these contributions are described only qualitatively, lacking numerical or economic quantification. Next, we provide examples of the main services to offer a global overview of their multifaceted value and vulnerability to environmental change. We believe this synthesis provides researchers and practitioners with concrete examples and targeted metaphors to more effectively communicate the importance of subterranean ecosystems to diverse audiences.
Ključne besede: cultural heritage, ecotourism, sustainability, geothermal energy, biotechnology, food production, drinking water, nature value, hypogean, groundwater
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 02.07.2025; Ogledov: 667; Prenosov: 997
Celotno besedilo (1,29 MB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: We studied spatio-temporal distribution of hyporheic invertebrate community at the stream-reach scale in the River Bača on three sampling occasions (January, March, May) in 2005. On each sampling occasion, invertebrates were collected from the shallow hyporheic zone (RB1; depth 30-60 cm, 3 replicates), and deeper hyporheic zone (RB2; depth 60-90 cm, 2 replicates) in the river bed, and adjacent gravel bar (GB; depth 60-90 cm, 3 replicates) using Bou-Rouch piston pump. Concurrently, temperature, conductivity and oxygen were measured in the surface water and in hyporheic water at each sampling station. Differences in hyporheic community between dates and habitats were analysed by using two-way ANOVA (dates and habitats as fixed factors) and explored by principal component analysis (PCA). Altogether, 21,657 specimens from 63 taxa were collected. Cyclopoida juveniles, Leuctra sp. (Plecoptera), Chironomidae (Diptera), Acanthocyclops vernalis (Fischer, 1853) and Diacyclops languidus (G. O. Sars, 1863) were the most abundant in the samples. Two-way ANOVA showed significant differences between habitats (RB1 and GB), but no differences between dates when using taxonomic richness as dependent variable. No differences between habitats and dates were calculated when invertebrate densities were applied. PCA of hyporheic invertebrate data showed a gradient in community composition from shallow hyporheic zone (RB1) to deeper hyporheic zone (RB2) and gravel bar (GB). The differences were most probably due to different sediment composition in the studied habitats and less frequent disturbances due to floods in deeper layers and lateral gravel bars.
Ključne besede: stream reach, hyporheic zone, invertebrates, distribution (biology), community composition, spatial and temporal distribution
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 12.03.2025; Ogledov: 726; Prenosov: 605
Celotno besedilo (853,48 KB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...

Povzetek: Interstitial water that occupies the pore spaces within unconsolidated sediments is a unique habitat, inhabited by surface as well as exclusively subterranean species (stygobionts). The best studied of all interstitial habitats is the hyporheic zone, an interface between surface water and groundwater (phreatic zone) environments. The Sava River in central Slovenia (i.e., at the Ljubljana alluvial plain) readily qualifies as one of the global hotspots of interstitial biodiversity, while data from other river sections are lacking. In 2015, we sampled two gravel bars on the final Slovenian section of the river (Eastern Slovenia), and collected nine samples per site using the Bou-Rouch pumping method. At »Čatež ob Savi« and »Obrežje« sites, at least 26 invertebrate species with 14 stygobionts and 25 invertebrate species with 13 stygobionts were identified, respectively. Altogether, 33 invertebrate taxa with 16 stygobionts were recorded, which increased the previously known interstitial stygobiotic richness of the Sava River in Slovenia by eight species (to 37 species). Three species of the stygobiotic amphipod genus Niphargus were recorded in Slovenia for the first time, one of which is even a new species to science. We discuss the novel results in the context of current national conservation practices.
Ključne besede: interrstitial fauna, hyporheic, stygobionts, endemic species, Bou-Rouch pumping method, Sava River, Slovenia
Objavljeno v DiRROS: 12.03.2025; Ogledov: 760; Prenosov: 553
Celotno besedilo (459,58 KB)
Gradivo ima več datotek! Več...