Slovenia

Europa

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Slovenia is one of the most forested countries in Europe, with close to sixty per cent of its territory under trees, and it brings together Alps, Dinaric karst, Pannonian plain and a Mediterranean strip in very little space. The Triglav massif concentrates the high mountains, with chamois and marmots, while the Dinaric forests of the south hold one of the densest brown bear populations on the continent, alongside wolves and lynx. The Kras plateau gave karst its name worldwide: its limestone is riddled with thousands of caves, sinkholes and underground rivers, such as the Škocjan system, with one of the largest known subterranean galleries. Lake Cerknica fills and empties each year depending on the rains, and the Sečovlje salt pans and the mouth of the Isonzo provide coastal wetlands for migrating birds.

The nature of Slovenia

National animal: No official national animal; the Carniolan honey bee and the mythical golden-horned chamois Zlatorog are the country's wildlife symbols

Did you know?

The olm, a blind, unpigmented amphibian with pink skin that lives in the underground rivers of the Slovenian karst, was for centuries the stuff of legend: when floods washed it to the surface, country people believed these were baby dragons flushed out of the earth. It can live around a century, can go years without eating, and in 2016 a female's clutch in the Postojna cave was followed live from around the world.

Biodiversity profile

Balcanes / Europa Central (encrucijada de 4 regiones biogeograficas)41,4% del territorio esloveno bajo areas protegidas y/o sitios Natura 2000 (37,87% solo en Natura 2000, la mayor proporcion de los 28 paises de la UE)

Climate

•Submediterraneo en la costa (Csa)
•Continental templado (Cfb) en la meseta central
•Clima de montaña en los Alpes Julianos y Dinaricos (norte y suroeste)

Main biomes

•Bosque de coniferas y mixto alpino (Alpes Julianos, norte)
•Bosque karstico dinarico (suroeste, uno de los mejor conservados de Europa)
•Llanura panonica (este)
•Meseta karstica con extenso sistema de cuevas
•Karst y río subterráneo
•Bosque dinárico de hayas y abetos
•Alta montaña alpina
•Lago intermitente
•Salina litoral
•Turbera de altitud
•Bosque de ribera

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Corta costa del Adriatico, con acantilados marinos y dunas

Flagship wildlife

•Oso pardo (poblacion de los Dinaricos entre las mas importantes de Europa)
•Lince euroasiatico y lobo gris
•Proteo o "pez humano" (endemico del karst dinarico, anfibio cavernicola unico)
•Delfin mular (costa adriatica)
•Lobo gris
•Lince boreal
•Rebeco
•Marmota alpina
•Abeja carniola
•Nutria paleártica
•Cigüeña blanca
•Águila real
•Urogallo

Notable endemic species

•Slovenia cubre menos del 0,004% de la superficie terrestre pero alberga aprox. 1% de la biodiversidad mundial, con la mayor concentracion relativa de especies terrestres de Europa
•Flora ilirica: plantas endemicas de distribucion restringida a los Alpes Dinaricos entre Eslovenia y Albania
•Proteo (Proteus anguinus), anfibio cavernicola endemico del karst dinarico, considerado un "fosil viviente"
•3.472 taxones de plantas vasculares registrados, con notable riqueza endemica
•Escarabajo de las cuevas de Eslovenia
•Trucha del Adriático

Notable threatened species

•Proteo (Vulnerable, extremadamente sensible a la contaminacion del agua subterranea karstica)
•Grandes carnivoros (oso, lobo, lince) con poblaciones estables o en aumento gracias a legislacion protectora y apoyo publico, en linea con la tendencia general europea

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional del Triglav (unico parque nacional del pais, Alpes Julianos)
•Karst Dinarico (sistema de cuevas y habitat del proteo)
•Cuevas de Škocjan
•Cueva de Postojna
•Parque Natural de Sečovlje
•Lago de Cerknica
•Parque Regional de Kozjansko

Main conservation threats

•Contaminacion de aguas subterraneas karsticas, critica para el proteo y otra fauna cavernicola endemica
•Presion turistica en zonas alpinas y karsticas
•Fragmentacion de corredores para grandes carnivoros

Notable natural phenomena

•Eslovenia se situa en la interseccion de 4 regiones biogeograficas (Mediterraneo, Llanura Panonica, Alpes, Karst Dinarico), generando una diversidad excepcional para su reducido tamaño

Conservation

Slovenia brought lynx over from Slovakia in 1973 to recover the species and has again reinforced that highly inbred population with new animals. The subterranean fauna of the karst is extremely vulnerable to pollution of the aquifers.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The forests of Kočevje between May and September from brown bear hides. Postojna and Škocjan year-round for the olm and cave fauna. Sečovlje in spring and autumn for waders and flamingos.

Sources: GOV.SI - Nature | ResearchGate - Biodiversity of Slovenia | Earth.Org - How Slovenia Became One of the Most Sustainable Countries | BioDB.com - Slovenia

Mountain Ocean