Origination of stone forests in China

Authors

Lin Hua Song, Academia Sinica

Abstract

The stone forests are widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical climatic areas. The stone forests may be divided into hilltop stone forest, hill slope stone forest and the stone forest in the depressions or valleys. The conditions for stone forest development should be (1) thick and pure limestone, (2) gentle dipping of limestone formation, generally less than 15°, (3) a lot of vertical joint and fissure networks, (4) the soil covering on the limestone surface inhomogeneous, thick in the fissures and thin on the rock top surface, and (5) the soil should be wet and contain rich organic materials and CO₂. In the above conditions, the stone teeth may develop to the stone forest. If lack of organic soil, low humidity and stable depth of soil erosion zone occurs, only the stone teeth are developed.

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.15.1.1

Recommended Citation

Song, Lin Hua. 1986. Origination of stone forests in China. International Journal of Speleology, 15: 3-13.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol15/iss1/1