Challenges in the Management of Plitvice Lakes National Park, Republic of Croatia

ABSTRACT Travertine forms spectacular waterfalls, barriers, and subaqueous finegrained lake-fill accumulations throughout the Plitvice National Park, Croatia, northwestern Yugoslavia. Barrier deposits form dams, behind which, the lakes of the Plitvice complex are situated. Three generations of low-magnesian calcite spar comprise the waterfall and barrier forming travertines. The initial precipitates generally are composed of cloudy, very finely to medium crystalline equant to bladed spar. A later generation is composed of clear, isopachous layers of medium to coarsely crystalline bladed crystals. Additionally, centimeter-thick laminated speleothem-like crusts, composed of clear, bladed to columnar spar, are the common precipitates around micritic accumulations within the older travertine. In comparison, the lake-fill deposits are primarily composed of moderately (recent lake-fill deposits) to well-developed (relict lake-fill deposits) 3-8 ^m calcite rhombohedrons. Petrographie analyses clearly show that cyanobacteria, fungi, and/or other microbial organisms bore into the spar and micritize it. This sparmicritization is pervasive throughout the waterfall and barrier deposits. Bladed spar crystals range from those which are pristine to those whose original bladed morphology can only be interpreted by comparison with laterally adjacent crystals. Individual samples display multiple generations of spar which have undergone various degrees of sparmicritization. Sparmicritization results in a thoroughly micritized accumulation in which evidence of the original spar composition has been completely obliterated.

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Bifurcation of the Korana River in the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Acta Carsologica ◽

10.3986/ac.v45i1.3057 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ranko Biondić ◽

Hrvoje Meaški ◽

Božidar Biondić

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Plitvice Lakes

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Soils and sediments of Prošće Lake catchment as a possible terrigenous input in the lakes system

Acta Carsologica ◽

10.3986/ac.v49i1.7547 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anita Ptiček Siročić ◽

Stanislav Kurajica ◽

Dragana Dogančić ◽

Nikolina Fišter

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Natural Phenomenon ◽

Northwestern Part ◽

Valuable Insight ◽

Absorption Bands ◽

Recharge Area ◽

Soils And Sediments ◽

Lake Catchment ◽

Dominant Phase ◽

Plitvice Lakes

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is in the northwestern part of the Dinaric Karst in central Croatia. An important role of the soil in the karst is to purify the waters before they reach the phreatic zone. The soil is also a zone of accumulation, transformation, retardation and dilution of a potential pollutant. Knowing soil mineralogical composition is an important factor in understanding fate and transport of contaminants throughout lakes system. Samples of soil, peat and stream sediment were collected in the Prošće lake catchment and partly in the assumed zone of influence, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of samples was performed to determine dominant mineral species in samples. XRD analysis showed predominance of lowquartz, which was found in all samples, most often as dominant phase. Dolomite was found in half of the samples, almost always as a significant phase while calcite was dominant phase in one of the samples. In most of the samples, members of the feldspars and chlorites groups, as well as muscovite, were present as minor phases. The absorption bands in the range of 2800-3000 cm-1 due to the organic matter are visible in spectra of all samples. These minerals can enter lakes system by surface waters, primarily streams and overland flow during snow thawing and rain, and also in cases of shore erosion. Terrigenic input in lakes is small but cannot be neglected due to the longlasting preservation efforts of the Prošće Lake recharge area, and the Plitvice Lakes National Park in general, terrigenous intake still does not pose a threat to water quality and tufa production. Considering the analyzed samples and characteristics of detected soil constituents, soils and sediments in the Prošće Lake catchment have the ability to retain and purify water on its way to the lakes. On the other hand, in case of the possible contamination in the recharge area of the lakes system, the pollutants can enter the system adsorbed on the soil particles. Learning more about the soils surrounding lakes gives valuable insight into their possible influence on lakes water chemistry and adds one piece of the puzzle into understanding this kind of a natural phenomenon.

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Checklist of aquatic Diptera (Insecta) of Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia, a UNESCO world heritage site

ZooKeys ◽

10.3897/zookeys.918.49648 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 918 ◽

pp. 99-142

Author(s):

Marija Ivković ◽

Valentina Dorić ◽

Viktor Baranov ◽

Zlatko Mihaljević ◽

Levente-Péter Kolcsár ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

World Heritage ◽

World Heritage Site ◽

Aquatic Habitats ◽

Unesco World Heritage ◽

Number Of Species ◽

Heritage Site ◽

Unesco World Heritage Site ◽

First Time ◽

Plitvice Lakes

Studies on aquatic Diptera in the Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia) conducted in the last 50 years have produced 157 species and 7 taxa of aquatic Diptera placed in 13 families. Samples were collected at 25 sampling sites representing the four main types of karst aquatic habitats: spring, stream, tufa barriers and lakes. All records of all the aquatic families of Diptera in Plitvice Lakes NP are summarized, including previously unpublished data. Twelve species new for Plitvice Lakes NP are recorded for the first time, belonging to the families: Chironomidae – Labrundinia longipalpis (Goetghebuer, 1921), Nilothauma brayi (Goetghebuer, 1921), Potthastia longimanus Kieffer, 1922, Polypedilum (Polypedilum) nubeculosum (Meigen, 1804), Tanytarsus brundini Lindeberg, 1963; Dixidae – Dixella autumnalis (Meigen, 1838); Scathophagidae – Acanthocnema latipennis Becker, 1894 and Stratiomyidae – Oxycera pardalina Meigen, 1822, Oxycera limbata Loew, 1862, Oxycera turcica Ustuner & Hasbenli, 2004, Nemotelus pantherinus (Linnaeus, 1758), Oplodontha viridula (Fabricius, 1775). The most species-rich family was the Chironomidae with 62 species (and an additional seven taxa), followed by the Empididae with 22 species and Limoniidae with 19 species. The highest number of species was recorded in springs. The relatively low number of species in certain families and the complete absence of some aquatic families shows that further research into the aquatic Diptera in Plitvice Lakes NP is needed.

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