Introduction

In the south, the Alpine and Pannonian landscapes are replaced by the Dinaric landscapes, which run from northwest to southeast and occupy the greatest part of southern Slovenia. Dinaric landscapes, primarily the karst valley systems and the interim karst plateaus, constitute a good quarter of Slovenia.

The Dinaric plateaus are composed almost entirely of limestone and dolomite and are the most forested regions of Slovenia; forest covers almost three quarters of their surface. Surface waters are rare, and droughts and forest fires occur frequently. The traditional economic branches are forestry and the related wood industries. Small nucleate villages with irregularly distributed buildings are dominant. Because of unfavourable natural conditions, the farms survive on forestry and livestock production. The population density is six times smaller than the Slovene average, and the population is decreasing, even though the majority of households are equipped with modern telecommunication and household equipment.

Dinaric valley systems and corrosion plains run between the Dinaric plateaus. The corrosion plains are largely composed of limestone and dolomite, while in the valley systems is some clay and flysch as well. Well known is Notranjsko podolje with the famous intermittent Cerknica Lake. In contrast to the unfriendly surface is the fairy-tale underground world carved out by water. More than seven thousand caves rich with stalactites, stalagmites, and other karst cave formations have been discovered so far below the Dinaric and neighbouring Mediterranean karst regions.