Temperature conditions and vegetation in Dinaric frost hollows

Ogrin, Matej (author), Nikolić, Gojko (author), Svetlin, Domen (author), Cikovac, Pavle (author), Küfmann, Carola (author)

Topographic depressions in high mountain karst regions are among the coldest known areas not only in a regional context but also on a global scale, which is why they are also referred to as frost hollows. Although knowledge of thermal conditions in depressions is generally well established, scientific research on micro climates and periglacial ecosystems in glacio karstic depressions of the High Dinaric Mountains is scarce and suffers from a lack of continuous data collection. Due to the prevailing natural chemical weathering processes in the limestone areas, karst landscapes with a large number of karst depressions, e.g., dolines, uvalas, and poljes, are characteristic in this region. They provide specific types of micro climates with adequate ecological conditions for cold-adapted species and are interesting geo- and biodiversity sites. Their occurrence indicates migrations during the cold phases of the Pleistocene glacial cycles, in the reverse direction along the north–south axis to the Balkans. The paper deals with temperature conditions and combined plant species as ecological indicators of biological feedbacks to the exceptional frost hollow microclimates in periglacial areas in the Dinaric Mountains of Montenegro. The study area covers the altitudes between 1,200 and 2,026 m in the mountain karst plateau of Sinjajevina Mountains, the Orjen massif, and the Durmitor Mountains. The related fieldwork analyses and continuous measurements were carried out in representative plots in the study area. Strikingly, the results show that the absolute lowest temper atures for the whole Montenegro are found in Durmitor Mountains.

• Language: English
• Keywords: glaciokarst, microclimate, cold-air pool, warm stage refugia, arcto-alpines, bio- and geodiversity, Dinaric Mountains, Montenegro
• Typology: 1.16 - Independent Scientific Component Part or a Chapter in a Monograph
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 485-502
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180902
• UDC: 551.435.88:551.584(234.422.1)
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-99017-5_27
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270904579
• Publication date in RUL: 19.03.2026

Record is a part of a monograph

• Title: Discourses on mountains of Montenegro and Slovenia
• Editors: Matija Zorn, Olga Pelcer-Vujačić, Peter Mikša
• Place of publishing: Cham
• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2026
• ISBN: 978-3-031-99016-8
• COBISS.SI-ID: 267673091
• Collection title: Historical geography and geosciences (Print)
• Collection ISSN: 2520-1379

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: glaciokras, mikroklima, zbirališče hladnega zraka, topla zatočišča, arktično-alpske rastline, biotska in geološka raznovrstnost, Dinarsko gorovje, Črna gora

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P6-0101-2022
• Name: Geografija Slovenije