Scientific Excursion
01 About
The registration covers the scientific excursions. Participants of the conference are kindly invited to join the excursion, which will take place on the third day of the conference.
02 Škocjan Caves
The registration covers the scientific excursions. Participants of the conference are kindly invited to join the excursion, which will take place on the third day of the conference. The excursion will take us to the Škocjan Caves, a site listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1986. Slovenia is where many of the karst features were scientifically studied and described for the first time in history and one of the best places to discover the extreme environment of the subterranean karst and its exceptional biodiversity.
Please note! The temperature of the caves is around 12 °C – please bring enough warm clothes. In periods of heavy rain the dripping of the water through the cave ceiling increases. Consider bringing a waterproof layer and non-slippery hiking shoes. In the caves, we will walk for approximately 3 km and climb about 500-800 steps. The cave tour lasts between 1 hour 30 minutes and two hours.
03 Sečovlje Salterns
In the afternoon, the day will continue with a workshop on sampling aquatic hypersaline environments. The workshop will take place in Sečovlje Salterns, where the salt has been collected by evaporating seawater using the same techniques for centuries. This has created a unique habitat rich in plant, animal (especially bird) diversity, but also harbouring halotolerant, extremely halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms. In fact, this is where some of the most known halotolerant and halophilic fungal strains have been isolated from!
Please note! If the weather is sunny, consider bringing a hat and sunscreen. We will walk for at least 2 km on flat terrain. Good walking shoes are recommended.
If you would like to take your own samples, please contact us in advance (polona.zalar@bf.uni-lj.si). Sampling will only be possible at certain locations.
