Salt fields near Piran, Slovenia (19629102184)

The Sečovlje Saltworks ( sl, Sečoveljske soline; it, Saline di Sicciole) is the largest

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...

. Along with the Strunjan Saltworks, they are the northernmost

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

saltworks and one of the few where salt is still produced in a traditional way, as well as a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

of international importance and a breeding place for waterbirds. They are part of the Piran Saltworks and are located at Parecag in

Slovenian Istria Slovene Istria ( sl, slovenska Istra, it, Istria slovena) is a region in southwest Slovenia. It comprises the northern part of the Istrian peninsula, and it is part of the wider geographical-historical region known as the Slovene Littoral. Its l ...

, the southwest of the country, at the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, along the mouth of the

Dragonja The Dragonja (; it, Dragogna) is a long river in the northern part of the Istrian peninsula. It is a meandering river with a very branched basin and a small quantity of water. It has a pluvial regime and often dries up in summer. It features ...

River near

Sečovlje Sečovlje (; it, Sicciole) is a settlement in the Municipality of Piran in the Slovenian Littoral, Littoral region of Slovenia. Name The modern Slovene name ''Sečovlje'' is an artificial creation dating from after 1945. It was coined from the I ...

. The saltworks have been active since the 13th century. Nowadays, the salt production is carried on in order to preserve natural and cultural heritage. The area of the saltworks and the Seča peninsula have been declared the Sečovlje Salina Landscape Park. The Museum of Salt-Making in Sečovlje received the

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant inte ...

Prize, bestowed by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

to outstanding initiatives for the preservation of cultural heritage in 2003, the first Slovene organisation to be awarded. The salt produced at the saltworks is marketed as Piran Salt ( sl, Piranska sol) and has Protected designation of origin status in the

. In 1993, the saltworks were put on the list of Ramsar wetlands of international importance. The wetland covers in the mouth of the Dragonja.

Flora

Of particular importance are

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores. Th ...

s - the plants that require high salt concentrations for growing - among them '' Salicornia europea'', '' Arthrochnemum fruticosum'', ''

Halimione portulacoides ''Halimione portulacoides'' or sea purslane (2n=36) is a shrub found in Eurasia. Description The plant grows to in height. It is evergreen, and in northern temperate climates it flowers from July to September. The flowers are monoecious and a ...

'', '' Limonium angustifolium'', '' Artemisia caerulescens'', '' Suaeda maritima'', and the

golden samphire The golden samphire (''Limbarda crithmoides'') is a perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across western and southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Golden samphire has a tufted habit, and the plant may ...

(''Inula crithmoides''). File:Limonium angustifolium.jpg, ''Limonium angustifolium'' File:Illustration Ruppia maritima0.jpg, ''

Ruppia maritima ''Ruppia maritima'' is an aquatic plant species commonly known as beaked tasselweed, ditch grass, tassel pondweed and widgeon grass. Despite its scientific name, it is not a marine plant; is perhaps best described as a salt-tolerant freshwa ...

'' grows in closed channels with deeper and salt water. File:Salicornia europaea.jpg, Occasionally, the pioneer community of ''Salicornia europea'' covers a saltwork pool. File:Bellevalia romana0.jpg, Sečovlje Saltworks are the only Slovenian growing place of '' Bellevalia romana''

Fauna

Over 280 bird species have been spotted in the Sečovlje Saltworks, at least four of them having their only nesting place here. The saltworks are home to numerous invertebrates, like shrimps and shells, and vertebrates. Among insects, the bee species '' Tetraloniella nana'' and '' Pseudoapis bispinosa'', and the bug '' Dimorphopterus blissoides'' have been found in the Sečovlje Saltworks. Among vertebrates, the

Etruscan shrew The Etruscan shrew (''Suncus etruscus''), also known as the Etruscan pygmy shrew or the white-toothed pygmy shrew, is the smallest known extant mammal by mass, weighing only about on average. (The bumblebee bat is regarded as the smallest mamma ...

(''Suncus etruscus''), the

Italian wall lizard The Italian wall lizard or ruin lizard (''Podarcis siculus'', from the Greek meaning agile and feet) is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. ''P. siculus'' is native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Italy, Serbia, Montenegro ...

(''Podarcis sicula''), and the

lesser mouse-eared bat The lesser mouse-eared bat or lesser mouse-eared myotis (''Myotis blythii'') is a species of insectivorous bat in the family Vespertilionidae. Distribution Lesser mouse-eared bats can be found in the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, A ...

(''Myotis blythii'') live here. File:Larus cachinnans 3 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg,

Yellow-legged gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Cas ...

(''Larus michahellis'') File:Egretta garzetta 003.jpg, The little egret is the most common species of the egret and the symbol of the Sečovlje Saltworks. File:Artemia salina.jpg, A number of water animals, for example the brine shrimp ''

Artemia salina ''Artemia salina'' is a species of brine shrimp – aquatic crustaceans that are more closely related to '' Triops'' and cladocerans than to true shrimp. It belongs to a lineage that does not appear to have changed much in . ''A. salina'' is na ...

'', live in the Sečovlje Saltworks.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Secovlje Saltworks Municipality of Piran Sečovlje Saltworks Natural Park Istria Agriculture in Slovenia Wetlands in the Slovene Littoral Saltworks Natura 2000 in Slovenia Ramsar sites in Slovenia Bodies of water of the Slovene Littoral