Triglav National Park

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Triglav National Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)

Location Slovenia
Area 880 km²[1][2]
Established 1981[3]
Visitors 1.6 million (in 2006)
The Tamar Valley

Triglav National Park (TNP) (Slovene: Triglavski narodni park) is the only national park in Slovenia. It was established in its modern form in 1981 and is located in the northwestern part of the country, respectively the southeastern part of the Alpine massif.[1][3] Mount Triglav, the highest peak of Julian Alps, stands almost in the middle of the national park. From it the valleys spread out radially, supplying water to two large river systems with their sources in the Julian Alps: the Soča and the Sava, flowing to the Adriatic and Black Sea, respectively.

History

The proposal for the protection of the Triglav Lakes Valley area was first put forward by the seismologist Albin Belar in 1906 or 1908. However, the proposal was not accepted, as there was no legal base for it and the then valid laws prohibited any restriction of pasture.[3] The strategic basis for the protection of the area, titled The Memorandum (Spomenica), and which explicitly mentioned the proposal of Belar, was submitted to the Provincial Government for Slovenia in 1920.[3] The idea was finally implemented in 1924.[3] Then, at an initiative by the Nature Protection Section of the Slovene Museum Society together with the Slovene Mountaineering Society, a twenty-year lease was taken out on the Triglav Lakes Valley area, some 14 km². It was destined to become an Alpine Conservation Park; however, permanent conservation was not possible at that time. The name Triglavski narodni park was first used in 1926 by Fran Jesenko.[4][3]

In 1961, after many years of effort, the protection was renewed (this time on a permanent basis) and somewhat enlarged, embracing around 20 km². The protected area was officially designated as Triglav National Park. It was named after Mount Triglav, a symbol of Slovenia and of Slovene character. However, all objectives of a true national park were not attained and for that reason over the next two decades new proposals for expanding and modifying this protection were put forward.

Finally, in 1981, Triglav National Park was officially established in the modern form. A rearrangement was achieved and the park was given a new concept and expanded to 838 km². In 2010, the park expanded to include the settlement Kneške Ravne (Tolmin), according to wishes of its inhabitants, thus the new park area amounts to 880 km², which is 4% of the area of Slovenia.[1]

Biodiversity

Flora

Systematic surveys of plants, especially of ethnobotanically useful species, in Triglav National Park have been carried out by C.P. Kala and Petra Ratajc covering various microhabitats, altitudes, aspects and terrain types. The park harbours over fifty nine species of ethnobotanical values, of these 37 species (which contribute 62%) fall under 4 major categories of medicinal plants as per the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia such as H, Z, ZR and ND.[5] Some important species such as Aconitum napellus, Cannabis sativa and Taxus baccata are not allowed to collect and use as per the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia.[5]

Hydrology

Waters in Triglav National Park consist of two watersheds: the Sava River watershed and the Soča River watershed. Many waterfalls can be found in the park, and most of them are located in the valleys of Soča River and its tributaries. The highest waterfall is Boka Falls (106 m). The lakes in the park are all of glacial origin. The largest among them is Lake Bohinj. Others are the Triglav Lakes (located in the Triglav Lakes Valley), Lake Krn, and Lower and Upper Križ Lake.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Triglavski narodni park (TNP)". Triglav National Park. Retrieved 17 December 2011. 
  2. ↑ "Triglavski narodni park se je povečal za Kneške Ravne" [Triglav National Park Expanded To Kneške Ravne] (in Slovene). Planet Siol.net. 17 December 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Banovec Tomaž et al. (2006). Snovalci Triglavskega narodnega parka - ljudje pred svojim časom [Designers of Triglav National Park − People Ahead of Their Time] (in Slovene). Triglav National Park Public Institute. 
  4. ↑ Vito Hazler (2010). "Protection and Presentation of Cultural Heritage in the Triglav National Park and in Regional and Landscape parks in Slovenia". Etnološka istraživanja/Ethnological Researches 15. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kala, C.P. and Ratajc, P. 2012. High altitude biodiversity of the Alps and the Himalayas: ethnobotany, plant distribution and conservation perspectives. Biodiversity and Conservation, 21: 1115-1126 http://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-012-0246-x

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