ABSTRACT
The Dinaric Karst is the largest continuous karst landscape in Europe. It extends from north-eastern Italy through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro to Albania. Its extreme northwest part is the cradle of the world’s study of karst phenomena with recorded show cave visits and scientific studies dating back to the 17th century. Its Škocjan Caves are recognized as a UNESCO site of World Natural Heritage, while its karst landscape, Vjetrenica Cave and unique medieval monolithic tombstones are placed on its Tentative List. The subterranean fauna of the region is amongst the world’s best studied and the region is acknowledged as one of the richest in the terms of biodiversity. Growing concern for the preservation of underground natural and cultural heritage has led to increased interest in its microbiota. Accordingly, in the last decade, the underground microbiota of Dinaric karst received substantial academic interest. It yielded a number of studies that focused on the diversity and the structure of autochthonous and allochthonous microbial communities found in the region. Microbes that inhabit underground habitats are now being recognized as central for key ecosystem functions but also as main culprits in biodeterioration of underground natural heritage. Hence, the study presented here aims not only to introduce the natural and cultural heritage of Dinaric Karst, but also to summarize current knowledge on microbial communities that inhabit these fragile ecosystems as well as to present the proposed guidelines for the preservation of heritage sites in this region.
