The Borovi do is a pan-shaped sinkhole on Orjen at 1470 mm AA. It lies to the north of the Reovačka greda col on the Bijela gora plateau.
During the glacial stages of the Pleistocene, the Borovi do was heavily glacierized. It formed the central part of the huge Orjen ice-cap.[1] With ice reaching approximately 430 m thinkness, several short valley glaceriers were formed at the margin of the ice-cap.
The Borovi do has a remarkable microclimate as it sustains a major cold-air pool for the whole of the Dinaric mountain range. Analysis revealed,[2] that during the January 2017 European cold wave, the cold-air lake that formed in the Borovi do was amongst the coldest spots in Montenegro.
Naturally the vegetation has adapted to the frequent freeze-thaw cycles during the colder seasons. It is the lowest place in the Dinarides, where the arcto-alpine species Oxytropis campestris agg. thrives.[3]
↑Hughes, P.D, Woodward, J.C., van Calsteren, P.C., Thomas, L.E., Adamson, K.R. (2010): Pleistocene ice caps on the coastal mountains of the Adriatic Sea. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29(27-28), 3690-3708.
↑Pavle Cikovac & Carola Küfmann 2021: Cold-air pool vegetation in glaciokarstic basins in the SE Dinarides (Montenegro). Historical Geography and Geosciences, Springer, 2021 (in Press).
↑Cikovac P, Hölzle I (2018) Glacial relicts in the Mediterranean Dinarides, a phenomenon of cold-air pool microclimates. Botanica Serbica 42(1):74.
