Some Representative Subterranean Communities

Abstract

Among shallow subterranean habitats, representative communities of hypotelminorheic (Lower Potomac seeps, Washington, DC), epikarst (Postojna–Planina Cave System, Slovenia), milieu souterrain superficiel (MSS) (central Pyrenees, France), soil (central Pyrenees, France), calcrete aquifers (Pilbara, Western Australia), lava tubes (Tenerife, Spain and Lava Beds National Monument, California), fluvial aquifers (Lobau wetlands, Austria), and iron-ore caves (Brazil) are described. Among non-cave deeper habitats, communities of phreatic aquifers (Edwards Aquifer, Texas), and deep phreatic aquifers (basalt aquifers, Washington) are described. Among cave habitats, representative tropical terrestrial (Gua Salukkan Kallang, Sulawesi, Indonesia), temperate terrestrial (Mammoth Cave, Kentucky), chemoautotrophic (Peştera Movile, Romania), hygropetric (Vjetrenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina), anchialine (Šipun, Croatia), cave streams (West Virginia and U.K.) and springs (Las Hountas, Baget basin, France) communities are discussed.