Pedological Characteristics of Montenegro

Speleology is a cross-disciplinary field that studies caves and other karst features, as well as their structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form and change over time. The understanding of geology and pedology, combined with the knowledge of chemistry, biology, physics, meteorology, cartography, and related fields is also significant for the understanding of caves as complex, evolving systems. Pedology (from Greek: pedon, “soil”; and logos, “study”), defined by Amundsen, is a discipline within soil science which focuses on understanding and characterizing soil formation, evolution, often in the context of the natural environment. With the idea of contributing to a wider understanding of speleology in Montenegro, an analysis and cartographic presentation of the soils of Montenegro was made including physical–geographical background, mapping of soils and interrelationships between geomorphic processes, soil formation, biodiversity, land use, including soil erosion. The author's idea with this presentation was to contribute to the completion of a mosaic about Montenegro, with all the research reports of the related disciplines, to provide an integral presentation of the Speleology of Montenegro.