Human Disturbance of Karst Environments
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2011
Keywords
Human Disturbance, Karst Aquifer, Karst Area, Groundwater Vulnerability, Karst System
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1207-2_17
Abstract
Karst environments have been impacted by human activity for thousands of years, ever since people started living in caves for shelter, needing building supplies and water. As human population has increased, so has its disturbance of the karst landscape. Quarrying, pollution, groundwater extraction, construction, and agriculture are the major culprits for disturbing both surface and subsurface karst. Ecosystems in this type of environment have been shown to be quite vulnerable to human activities. Methods to quantify this disturbance, such as the karst disturbance index, have been created to help resource managers formulate approaches to reduce this anthropogenic impact. In addition, models to measure karst vulnerability, in particular karst aquifers, have grown in number over the last two decades. When measuring human disturbance, it is important to consider matters of time and scale, as both will influence how and what data is collected.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Human Disturbance of Karst Environments, in P. E. van Beynen (Ed.), Karst Management, Springer, p. 379-397
Scholar Commons Citation
van Beynen, Philip E. and van Beynen, Kaya, "Human Disturbance of Karst Environments" (2011). School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications. 2079.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/2079
