Summer. Relentless heat. The sun stubbornly heating the hard rock. The sweaty brow of the miller and parched mouth of the farmer. The helpless water going over the falls. But in the brilliant sun, everything is sharply in focus, the tiny grains of dust, the fantastic forms of caves, and the small lakes created by the water in its endless falling over centuries and centuries. The Krka is a hanging river, a river that never dries out, becoming a karst oasis in the summer for every traveller, a sight for sore eyes, a break before the harvest. But there would be no salvation from the humidity without the forests, without the trees, without their shade.
Our elders wisely sat in the shade under the mulberry or walnut tree. Every house had one in the yard. Under them, they would rest, talk, and cool off. Today we know that trees lower the temperature and improve air quality. It is difficult to say how this knowledge serves us as we all too often witness the removal of trees, replacing them with sunshades of non-natural materials, with excessive climate control indoors, and the loss of natural shade in areas that are only becoming hotter and hotter. Trees absorb the heat, and more importantly, transpire water. Cooler air falls under the tree, while the hotter, lighter air rises into the atmosphere. The tree crown acts like a sunshade, blocking up to 90% of the solar radiation and cooling the ground below.
Each of these photographs shows the magnificence of trees. Regardless of whether we are looking at the forests around Visovac Island, the magical reflections of the trees in the water, the bare winter branches after the trees cast off their leaves and fruits in order to survive the winter, or the regrowth of new leaves in the spring.
A Buddhist philosophy says “The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it affords protection to all beings.” The forests at Krka National Park may not cover a large area, but they create a special atmosphere and feeling for the entire area.
