Speleothems and living organisms: what kind of relationships?

The idea that speleothems may be somehow influenced by living organisms is rather old, but specific studies have only started in the last few decades and presently there are only few systematic papers on this topic. The role of micro-organisms is perhaps the best investigated though not fully understood, while studies on upper organisms and speleothems are scarce and details on the involved genetic mechanisms are not always given. The aim of the present paper is to enhance the interest of the scientific community on this peculiar topic. In fact the complex biochemical reactions involved in the development of the different cave deposits clearly have an importance far exceeding the simple speleogenetic interest. Keywords: Chemical deposits in caves, micro-organisms, plants, upper animal