Projects / Programmes
Role and significance of microorganisms in karst processes
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.12.00 |
Humanities |
Geography |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B230 |
Biomedical sciences |
Microbiology, bacteriology, virology, mycology |
karst, caves, microorganisms, karstology, cave microbiology, karst processes
Researchers (2)
| no. |
Code |
Name and surname |
Research area |
Role |
Period |
No. of publicationsNo. of publications |
| 1. |
16180 |
PhD Franci Gabrovšek |
Mechanics |
Head |
2005 - 2007 |
0 |
| 2. |
20220 |
PhD Janez Mulec |
Biology |
Researcher |
2005 - 2007 |
0 |
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Almost half of our country is karstic (43%) and more than half of the waters used for household supply comes from karst aquifers. If we take into account the fact that on Earth 15% of the surface represent karst landscapes, we can conclude that studying microbial role and their significance is of crucial importance. The role of these organisms in karst has not been yet properly established. Literature on cave microbial communities and thier role in the ecosystem is scarce and limited to a few caves. It is a fact, that they with their presence and biochemical activity excert influence upon processes in karst ecosystem and global matter cycling. In the proposed project we will try to identify microbial communities from different karst (micro)habitats composed of bacteria, fungi, algae and protozoa. We will indentify physical and chemical parameters which are crucial for microbial colonization, their propagation in karst environment and their influence on lithogenic and litholitic karst processes. In the case of microbially induced destruction of karst natural heritage we will propose suitable solutions and long-term monitoring. We will try to find out quality of karst waters with microbial indicators. It is assumed that despite possible low biodiversity, the microorganisms play an important role in karst processes as important contributors to global matter cycling.
