Factors controlling growth of modern tufa: results of a field experiment - Tufas and Speleothems: Unravelling the Microbial and Physical Controls - page 144

Fig. 2. General topography of the sites studied, the points where tablets were installed and station of water sampling
are indicated (a) Karw´ w; (b)Z´zriv´;(c)L ´ˇky; (d)H´j.

The tufa fan is 12 m high and its lateral extent at
the base exceeds 30 m; the average dip of the fan
is 358. The fan is built of growing tufa that partly
cements older slope scree. The fan is fed by numer-
ous small springs and seeps from which water flows
down the fan in small rivulets. The water flows
also as a thin film through the moss cushions that
cover the fan.
The tufa fan is densely overgown by mosses and
algae. The algal flora is dominated by desmid
Oocardium stratum. It also comprises numerous

diatoms, cyanobacteria (for instance Rivularia hae-
matites), and green algae, including Clado-
phorophyceae (T. Mrozi ´ ska, pers. comm., 2003).
Locally patches of bushes and small willows occur
on the tufa fan. The fan is shaded by neighbouring
coniferous trees. The tufa fan in Z´zriv´ was not
included in the lists of Slovak tufas and travertines
(Kovanda 1971). It was recognized during the
geological fieldwork by the geologists from Depart-
ment of Geology and Palaeontology, Comenius
University in Bratislava.