Jovsi is an extensive natural plain divided into

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

and covering an area of Kladnik, Drago, & Bibijana Mihevc (eds.). 2006. ''Posavje in Posotelje A-Ž''. Ljubljana: ZRC, p. 72. in the

Municipality of Brežice The Municipality of Brežice (; ) is a municipality in eastern Slovenia in the Lower Sava Valley along the border with Croatia. The seat of the municipality is the town of Brežice. The area was traditionally divided between Lower Styria (territo ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It lies west of the lower course of the

Sotla River The Sutla () or Sotla () is a river flowing through Slovenia and Croatia, mostly forming their border. It is a tributary to the Sava, itself a tributary to the Danube. It is long and has a watershed area of . Overview The Sutla flows through the ...

below the Kapele Hills (). It is bounded by the road from Župelevec to

Dobova Dobova () is a settlement in the Municipality of Brežice in eastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The railway line from Ljubljana to Zagreb runs through the settlement and the station is an international railway border crossing. The ...

to the west and the

to the east. Theories derive the name ''Jovsi'' from Slovene ''jelša'' '

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

' (a common wetland tree) or from German ''Jauchsee'' 'fetid lake'.Naravni park Jovsi. 2011. Krajevna skupnost Kapele.
/ref> Until the Sotla River was regulated, the area was regularly inundated by floodwaters from the river. Jovsi is a flood-zone wetland of exceptional natural interest, distinguished by its great diversity of flora and fauna. About 80 species of birds nest here, which has provided ornithologists with the opportunity to collect extensive data. Certain important European species are regularly or intermittently found in Jovsi: the

white-tailed eagle The white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), sometimes known as the 'sea eagle', is a large bird of prey, widely distributed across temperate Eurasia. Like all eagles, it is a member of the family Accipitridae (or accipitrids) which also ...

(''Haliaeetus albicilla''),

European roller The European roller (''Coracias garrulus'') is the only member of the Coraciidae, roller family breeding in Europe. Its range extends into the Maghreb, West Asia and Central Asia. It winters in southern Africa, primarily in dry wooded savanna and ...

(''Coracias garrulus''),

black stork The black stork (''Ciconia nigra'') is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Measuring on average from beak tip to end of tail with a wingspan, t ...

(''Ciconia nigra''),

white stork The white stork (''Ciconia ciconia'') is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to en ...

(''Ciconia ciconia''),

common snipe The common snipe (''Gallinago gallinago'') is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World. Distribution and habitat The breeding habitats are marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout the Palearctic. In the north, the distribution li ...

(''Gallinago gallinago''),

corn crake The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (''Crex crex'') is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It is a medium-sized crake with buff ...

(''Crex crex''), and

lesser grey shrike The lesser grey shrike (''Lanius minor'') is a member of the shrike family ''Laniidae''. It breeds in South and Central Europe and western Asia in the summer and migrates to winter quarters in southern Africa in the early autumn, returning in sp ...

(''Lanius minor''). Because of its importance for nature conservation, the area is protected as a nature park.

References

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