Presenting
Temenica Habitat

Temenica Habitat is located in the Dolenjska region, in the vicinity of the town of Novo mesto. It covers the area of 156.03 ha or 1,560,300m². Temenica Habitat is included in Natura 2000. 

Southeast Slovenia is one of the twelve development regions in Slovenia according to the NUTS-3 classification (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics in the European Union). The region consists of three geographically connected units: Dolenjska (Novo mesto, Šentjernej, Šmarješke Toplice, Dolenjske Toplice, Škocjan, Straža, Mirna peč, Miren, Trebnje, Šentrupert, Mokronog, Žužemberk), Kočevsko-Ribniška (Kočevje, Ribnica, Sodražica, Loški stream, Kostel, Osilnica) and Bela krajina (Semič, Črnomelj, Metlika) – the last two units belong to the Central Slovenia macroregion with the capital of Ljubljana, whereas the Dolenjska region is part of the Thermal Pannonian macroregion.

Image: Southeast Slovenia and Dolenjska

Source: Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics in the European Union – NUTS, 2008

In the Dolenjska region, 38 Natura 2000 sites have been identified, covering more than 40% of the entire area of the Southeast Slovenia. All municipalities of the Southeast Slovenia are included in the Natura 2000 sites.

  • Flat walking paths. 
  • Rotary cycling.
  • In the immediate vicinity of an urban environment.

The Temenica River

In addition to the Ljubljanica River and the Reka River, the Temenica River is one of the most typical influent streams of Slovenia's karst. A large part of it runs through the dark karst underground, which is where it probably also got its name from. Its slope decreases sharply in the first three kilometres. The Temenica river basin is quite asymmetrical and has larger affluents only in the upper part. It measures almost 28km in length. The Temenica Valley stretches in a north-south direction.

The Temenica is a disappearing river that springs in Bukovica (under Obolni) at an altitude of 550m and it sinks twice. It mostly runs on limestone and dolomite. Its first sinking point is near Dolenje Ponikve, where it flows into several sinkholes. It emerges again into Mirna Peč Valley below the hill of St. Ana at Zijalo Spring. It runs above ground, reaching a sinkhole near Goriška Vas, where it sinks for the second and last time. The third and last spring of the Temenica is located at Luknja pri Prečni (Ajdovska planota Habitat, which borders with Temenica Habitat), only a few meters before the start of Temenica Habitat in the northwest.

The river in this last section runs through Temenica Habitat over Zalog Karst Field, and it joins with the Krka River as its left tributary in Češča village at the altitude of 170m. The flow of the Temenica River is also the boundary between the Municipality of Straža and the Municipality of Novo mesto.

An underground river is a term for a river with a karst spring which usually runs on the impervious basis of a karst field, and upon contact with limestone it sinks into the ground. The place where it disappears is called the sinkhole, or the cave sink if the water disappears in an underground cave.

Residents of Temenica Habitat

The Temenica River with its characteristic riverbed, which repeatedly changes direction, offers a living space for a number of species. The purpose of Temenica Habitat web application is to show these living beings, both plants and animals, which have found their living space around the Temenica River.

At the bottom of the Temenica, for example, resides one of the most important Dolenjska populations of marsh turtles, which is the only Slovenian native freshwater turtle and is due to the destruction of wetlands all the more endangered. The Temenica also nourishes the otter, which is one of the most endangered European mammals, as well as the beaver. The latter had until recently been considered an extinct species in Slovenia, when it moved here in 1998 as a result of the establishing of settlements in Croatia, and it is now gradually resettling this area. It is a species of key importance, because its activity influences the entire ecosystem. Its presence is necessary for the existence of many other species of living beings. The beaver maintains a special type of natural environment - the wetlands. By constructing dams, it slows down the water flow, thus improving the quality of water, which has an impact on the entire water community. It increases the content of carbon, reduces the content of nitrogen and reduces the pH value.

Animals Plants

Temenica Habitat and Natura 2000

Natura 2000 is a European network of special protected areas for the conservation of wild animal and plant species and natural habitats that are rare or at risk. The European Union introduced the network of Natura 2000 as one of the important parts of the implementation of the Directive on Birds and the Directive on Habitats.

Important animals protected under Natura 2000 in Temenica Habitat are the European pond turtle and the otter.

Explanation

The size of the area was determined on the basis of the annexes and the conditions set in the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC (SCI) and the Wild Birds Directive 2009/147/EC (SPA). The main feature of the area is a stream in the plain and montane zone with an aqueous vegetation of Ranunculion fluitantis and Callitricho-Batrachion. It consists of rooted aquatic plants (Callitriche spp., Potamogeton nodosus, Ranunculus subg. Batrachium, etc.), including the mosses and macroscopic algae. It is therefore a habitat type with the code of 3260 and the following denomination: “Water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and Callitricho‐Batrachion vegetation”.

This habitat type is supposed to include all of the liquid waters with the rooted floating seed plants, except for those which, due to the slowness of the water flow, to a larger degree phytosociologically resemble the macrophytic vegetation in standing waters. In Slovenia, the status of this habitat type is relatively poorly known.

LifeHabitats.com platform and E-guide application

Habitat is still very unexplored in its specialty, and this will change with the help of the E-guide application, which is a live interactive tool. With the mobile application, we enable visitors to get acquainted with information about living beings in this habitat and, of course, to contribute to the dissemination of information.

Therefore, we invite you all to visit the Temenica habitat and take a relaxed walk, where you will be able to learn about the characteristics of the habitat and the living creatures on the habitat. If you meet a resident of the habitat live, we invite you to take a photo and send us a photo to e-mail: info@lifehabitats.com, the image will go through an expert review and will be placed on the website or in the application with the consent of the author An e-guide where it will also be available to other users and visitors. In this way, in addition to a unique experience, you will also contribute to greater research and knowledge of the habitat.

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