Karst Management

Focusing specifically on the management of karst environments, this volume draws together the world’s leading karst experts to provide a vital source for the study and management of this unique physical setting. Although karst landscapes cover 12% of the Earth’s terrain and provide 25% of the world’s drinking water, the resource management of karst environments has only previously received indirect attention. Through a comprehensive approach, Karst Management focuses on engineering issues associated with surface karst such as quarries, dams, and agriculture, subsurface topics such as the management of groundwater, show caves, cave biota, and geo-archaeology projects. Chapters that focus on karst as an integrated system look at IUCN World Heritage sites, national parks, policy and regulation, measuring systematic disturbance, information management, and public environmental education. The text incorporates the most up-to-date research from leading karst scientists. This volume provides important perspectives for university students, educators, geoengineers, resource managers, and planners who are interested in or work with this unique physical landscape.

A complete guide to the management and restoration of water in karst environments Written by the co-chair of the Karst Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, this book addresses the unique challenges related to the characterization, management, and protection of karst aquifers, which are present on all continents and numerous oceanic islands. Water in Karst describes karst hydrogeology and hydrology, surface water–groundwater interactions, site investigation, data collection, delineation of drainage areas, groundwater extraction, regulatory issues, and water vulnerability and restoration. Predictive modeling methods and solutions to resource contamination and overexploitation are included. Photos, diagrams, and an eight-page color insert illustrate the concepts presented in this practical, comprehensive reference. WATER IN KARST COVERS: Karst aquifers Flow measurements and analysis Drainage areas in karst General principles of water management Regulations and education Predictive models Floods, droughts, and climate change Groundwater extraction Engineering regulation of karst aquifers and springs Vulnerability of water in karst Restoration of water in karst

Focusing specifically on the management of karst environments, this volume draws together the world’s leading karst experts to provide a vital source for the study and management of this unique physical setting. Although karst landscapes cover 12% of the Earth’s terrain and provide 25% of the world’s drinking water, the resource management of karst environments has only previously received indirect attention. Through a comprehensive approach, Karst Management focuses on engineering issues associated with surface karst such as quarries, dams, and agriculture, subsurface topics such as the management of groundwater, show caves, cave biota, and geo-archaeology projects. Chapters that focus on karst as an integrated system look at IUCN World Heritage sites, national parks, policy and regulation, measuring systematic disturbance, information management, and public environmental education. The text incorporates the most up-to-date research from leading karst scientists. This volume provides important perspectives for university students, educators, geoengineers, resource managers, and planners who are interested in or work with this unique physical landscape.

Land use decisions in karst terrains can have immediate and serious impacts on the local landscape and groundwater resources. The existing literature on karst and land use can be very difficult to locate in the journals of any of a half-dozen different disciplines. This book brings the interdisciplinary knowledge together in one place, in a format that academics and professionals alike will find accessible, informative and useful. Based on an examination of existing regulations, the experiences and opinions of planners and land use professionals, and quantitative analysis of publicly-available data, the book explores how human settlement patterns and urban systems in karst terrains are affected by land use regulations intended to protect karst resources. The book pays particular attention to the questions of whether these regulations will have a noticeable impact on density and on opportunities for economic growth and development in communities that choose to implement them. This analysis serves as the basis for a regulatory framework that may be used to understand the workings of land use regulations in karst terrains, and to aid in the development of such regulations in the future.

The Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science examines cave and karst geoscience, cave archaeology and human use of caves, art in caves, hydrology and groundwater, cave and karst history, and conservation and management.

Cave and karst landforms are distributed widely around the world. They have many values and are an integral component of the world's biodiversity. Some are habitats for a wide range of endemic species of flora and fauna, while others house rare and endangered species. Still others are the sources of rare minerals and some are important for resources such as groundwater, while some are venerated as sites of religious, spiritual and cultural importance. Many such landforms encompass one or many of these values. As special places, cave and karst landforms require special management. This small booklet has been prepared as a brief guide for planners, managers and users of cave and karst estates and provides general information and practical guidelines for the management of cave and karst ecosystems.

This book, part of the series Cave and Karst Systems of the World, begins with a review of the interaction between people and caves in Australia (including conservation), followed by descriptions of the spectacular cave diving sites, before comprehensively covering all the major carbonate and noncarbonate karst areas, subdivided by rock type and region, and including the origin of the caves. This is followed by broad overviews of cave minerals and speleothems, cave biology and cave fossils. Each section was written by one or more specialists in the topic and is illustrated by clear diagrams and superb colour photos. The book emphasises the unique aspects of the Australian karst, including the variability in the age of the caves (very old to very young) and the impact of isolation on the stygofauna, as well as the vertebrate fossils preserved in the caves. Written in an easy-to-read style, the book is a primary reference guide to Australian karst and represents a valuable asset for anyone interested in the topic, not only cavers and academics.