Environmental Monitoring in Škocjan Caves, Slovenia

Streaming Media

Session Type

Poster/Flash-talk Session

Start Date

19-8-2020 8:00 AM

Description

Environmental Monitoring in Škocjan Caves, Slovenia

Franci Gabrovsek¹ and Borut Peric²

¹ZRC SAZU, Karst Research Institute, Postojna Slovenia, 2Škocjan Slovenia

Abstract

Environmental impact of touristic use in a cave can be manifold, from direct physical impact on the bedrock, cave forms and sediments, to subtle changes in cave environment. The light can cause growth of lampenflora, people are net heat, CO2 and microbial sources, which can cause significant changes in the cave environment. Impact can only be assessed based on long term monitoring of environmental parameters. Škocjan Caves in Slovenia have experienced a fast growth in number of visitors, which has almost doubled during the last decade, and is now approaching 200,000 per year. To detect and evaluate the potential changes in cave environment, a network of online meteorological stations, lampenflora test sites and other measurements of environmental parameters have been established. We pre-sent the set-up and results of the first two years of monitoring in Škocjan Caves. Data revealed the main natural and anthropogenic driving mechanisms of cave atmosphere. As anticipated, the environmental impact of tourist visits differs seasonally and from site to site within the cave. We discuss the variations in relation to the cave morphology, distribution of entrances, changes in the outside atmosphere and the flux of tourists. The focus of the research is to identify the potential long-term or irreversible changes, which could indicate that the cave carrying capacity is exceeded. This may require introduction of management changes like limiting and/or redistributing the number of visitors, actions, which will be in any case required to provide educative and eventful experience for the visitors.

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This presentation was part of the Poster/Flash-talk Session.

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Aug 19th, 8:00 AM

Environmental Monitoring in Škocjan Caves, Slovenia

Environmental Monitoring in Škocjan Caves, Slovenia

Franci Gabrovsek¹ and Borut Peric²

¹ZRC SAZU, Karst Research Institute, Postojna Slovenia, 2Škocjan Slovenia

Abstract

Environmental impact of touristic use in a cave can be manifold, from direct physical impact on the bedrock, cave forms and sediments, to subtle changes in cave environment. The light can cause growth of lampenflora, people are net heat, CO2 and microbial sources, which can cause significant changes in the cave environment. Impact can only be assessed based on long term monitoring of environmental parameters. Škocjan Caves in Slovenia have experienced a fast growth in number of visitors, which has almost doubled during the last decade, and is now approaching 200,000 per year. To detect and evaluate the potential changes in cave environment, a network of online meteorological stations, lampenflora test sites and other measurements of environmental parameters have been established. We pre-sent the set-up and results of the first two years of monitoring in Škocjan Caves. Data revealed the main natural and anthropogenic driving mechanisms of cave atmosphere. As anticipated, the environmental impact of tourist visits differs seasonally and from site to site within the cave. We discuss the variations in relation to the cave morphology, distribution of entrances, changes in the outside atmosphere and the flux of tourists. The focus of the research is to identify the potential long-term or irreversible changes, which could indicate that the cave carrying capacity is exceeded. This may require introduction of management changes like limiting and/or redistributing the number of visitors, actions, which will be in any case required to provide educative and eventful experience for the visitors.