In 2025 and 2026, the activities carried out by the Department of Biology of the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana and the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU within the framework of the LIFE Tršca project will be upgraded with additional field research, the results of which will also be two master's theses.
Sampling on the Cerkniško polje, carried out by the Department of Biology, is quite diverse. Master's student of biology Zala will thus focus on macrophytes at karst springs. For this purpose, six springs on the Cerkniško polje will be selected (the springs of Martinjščica, Žerovniščica, Lipsenjščica, Zlatavec, Tresenc and Otoški Obrh rivers), which will also be complemented by springs of the Rakov Škocjan and Planinsko polje. At the springs and the first 100 m downstream of the spring (and if this section is shaded, the first 100 m of the sunlit part), she will assess the presence and abundance of macrophytes and the total cover of all macrophytes. The presence of macrophytes is strongly influenced by available light, water flow velocity, substrate type and nutrient content. She will also assess selected environmental factors and physical and chemical parameters of the water.
Hydrological measurements carried out by the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU will present a useful basis for Jakob, a master student of the study program "environment" at the University of Nova Gorica. He will focus on the entire flow of the Cerkniščica river, with the main goal of assessing the condition of artificial barriers and the ecological condition of the near surroundings of these barriers. The basic environmental problem of barriers is the obstruction of organisms when moving along riverbeds. Higher barriers and their dense and fragmented spatial distribution have a large impact. Many barriers on the Cerkniščica have been abandoned and have only a negative impact for migration of aquatic organisms. Some other barriers still in operation would also need to be assessed to determine whether their presence is still justified.
In early June 2025, we did joint field work on the Cerkniško polje, focused primarily on examining karst springs. The main interest was to check the presence of macrophytes, and we also checked the accessibility of the riverbeds and the difficulty of crossing in the first 100–200 meters of the stream. The complexity of the field survey is usually affected by the depth of the water, the composition of the river bed, the presence of riparian vegetation and the amount of equipment needed for a quality inventory. Most of the surveyed springs (Martinjščica, Žerovniščica, Lipsenjščica and Zlatavec) also have barriers, which do not have a significant negative impact on habitats and organisms living there.
In the summer of 2025, both students will begin intensive fieldwork, followed by analyses, processing of data, writing, and other attractive and unfavourable obligations leading up to a successful defence of their master's theses. We hope that in a year or so, we will be able to report on the many new and interesting findings that the students will come up with during their research on the always interesting Cerkniško polje.
Article was prepared by the Karst Research Institute and the Biotechnical Faculty of University of Ljubljana.
The implementation of extensive nature conservation projects exceeds the financial capacity of the local community, therefore Notranjska Park regularly applies for projects with the possibility of co-financing by the European Union.
The implementation of large-scale conservation projects exceeds the financial capabilities of the local community, therefore Notranjska Park regularly applies for projects with the possibility of co-financing from the European Union.
