DOLINE PARK CROCE DI SALVEN
The Doline Nature Park is located in Borno, at Croce di Salven, near the Giovetto Nature Reserve. But what are “doline”?
They are sinkholes: the most characteristic surface (or epigean) forms of the karst landscape, consisting of limestone rocks. They are funnel-shaped, goblet-shaped, bowl-shaped depressions, with a circular or elongated shape, whose diameter can vary from a few to 500/600 meters.
Sinkholes form when rainwater, made acidic by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or humus, comes into contact with the limestone rock, melting it. For the depression to form, it is necessary for the underlying rock to have cracks and/or fractures, through which the water penetrates deeply, taking dissolved salts with it (dissolution sinkholes).
The sinkholes present in this area probably have a more complex formation. These depressions are located on alluvial fans consisting of poorly consolidated materials, i.e., uncemented gravel and pebbles, carried by the glacier. Filtering deep through this debris, rainwater reaches the rock, dissolving the calcium carbonate present there. By doing so, underground cavities are created that grow larger and larger, eventually causing the collapse of the ground above (collapse dolines).
The vegetation within the Doline Park is particularly lush because of the presence of abundant mineral salts and the protection offered to the seeds by the typical concavity.
The Doline Park is also the starting point of several trails that provide access to some of Altopiano’s breathtaking destinations.
