The largest karst cave discovered in a tunnel during motorway construction in Slovenia’s Classical Karst (Kras)

Karst researchers of the Karst Research Institute ZRC SAZU are regularly consulted during the planning of Slovenia’s motorways and invited to observe and monitor construction in the karst areas. More than 350 caves have been discovered in the course of building 60 km of new motorways over the past decade. Access to the most important caves is preserved by concrete tubes closed with metal covers at the roadside. The largest cave system in a tunnel, named LC-S647, is almost entirely preserved. The protection of this cave will serve as a good example for the preservation of natural heritage in the future. Construction work for the motorway uncovered a high degree of karstification. In particular, the discovery of this cave in the Kastelec tunnel LC-S647 showed the existence of a major cave system in the geological and speleological past. A number of unconnected passages have also been found. Caves discovered during highway construction have brought new knowledge about the cavernosity and the geological history of this part of the karst.     

Human impact on the karst of the Venetian Fore-Alps, Italy

People have been exploiting the limestone massifs of the Venetian Fore-Alps since prehistory. The fluviokarstic style of the relief and the location of springs were important controls of settlement and land use. Six principal types of exploitation are recognized and overlapped in time: (1) hunting and early farming, Paleolithic to Iron Age, with the first soil erosion; (2) general deforestation for timber, charcoal, and fuel, Roman to early modern; (3) farm enclosure and improvement, with stone clearing, medieval to modern; (4) trench warfare in World War I; (5) quarrying and specialized farming (dairy, poultry, pigs) since 1950; and (6) developmnent of modern summer and winter tourist facilities. Soil erosion effects from many centuries can still be recognized, war damage remains visible and continues to pollute aquifers, and modern pressure on the karst land and water resources is often severe.     

Military training area in Kras (Slovenia)

 Slovenia's main military training area at Poček is located in the mountainous Javorniki Watershed. This is a karstic district without surface drainage or river valleys. The typical landscapes are conical hills and plateaus with many dolines. The lithology, tectonic structure and speleological data indicate a typical karst aquifer with underground water moving rapidly through fissures and conduits. Little attenuation occurs in such conditions and as a result there is a high risk of pollution. Tracer tests have shown that a significant proportion of the water recharging the Malni and Vipava springs comes from the vicinity of the military training area. As a result any polluting activities taking place within the military training area are likely to affect the two springs. This is a very serious matter as the springs have been developed to provide the water supply for the population of south-western Slovenia. Received: 20 April 1998 · Accepted: 24 August 1998     

Geochemical characterization of a karst polje – an example from Sinjsko polje, Croatia

 The poljes of the Adriatic Coast are rather special features whose like is not found anywhere else in the world. The delineation of this unique landform feature by its geochemical characteristics has been attempted by using examples from Sinjsko polje, which represents a typical karst polje in the Adriatic Coast, or the area of the Dinaric Karst. Factor analysis was performed on 96 samples collected in a regular grid of 1×1 km which covered the entire area of the Sinjsko polje valley. Another factor analysis was performed in a regular grid of 5×5 km that comprised 41 samples in the karstic environment. In this manner two factor models were created and closely inspected for possible differences due to the peculiar properties arising from two geochemically different environments. Within the polje itself it was possible to evaluate three factors, while four factors were identified to be significant for the explanation of the geochemical structure of data assessed in the regular 5×5-km grid. This grid includes the area of Sinjsko polje and its wider neighborhood. The Ba/Sr index reveals striking differences in drainage patterns between the polje itself and the surrounding area. Received: 3 May 1996 · Accepted: 25 June 1997     

Variation of infiltration rate through karstic surfaces due to land use changes: A case study in Murgia (SE-Italy)

Groundwaters of the Murgia carbonate aquifer represent the main groundwater resource of the Apulia region (SE Italy). In the highlands (Alta Murgia) karst crops out in different forms and textures which have been preserved up to the 1970s: little evolved agriculture and sheep rearing produced only a marginal modification of the epikarst while a high degree of division into parcels by drystone walls helped in preserving soils from erosion. In the last years the original scenery of the Alta Murgia changed due to widespread transformations of surface karstic textures for agricultural purposes, with undeniable negative consequences on the hydrogeological balance, concerning both the infiltration and the runoff terms. Stone shattering led to flattening and deep alteration of a large part of the original karstic landscape and to demolition of drystone walls.In a study area of about 139 km² located in the Alta Murgia, the comparison of aerial photos related to the period 1950–2001 indicated that stone shattering had occurred for about 42% of the area.The hydrological behaviour of the first soil layer of experimental parcels representing both shattered stone and natural karstic surface textures was analysed by using the numerical model Hydrus-2D with the aim of estimating the variation on infiltration rate due to stone shattering. Intensive field and laboratory measurements concerned soil texture, soil water content, pressure head, saturated hydraulic conductivity, pan evaporation and meteorological parameters.     

Impacts of primary deforestation upon limestone slopes in northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Effects of deforestation upon slopes in limestones and in volcanic rocks in the Benson River valley, northern Vancouver Island, have been investigated quantitatively. Postlogging soil erosion and vegetal regeneration success were assessed by measuring soil depth, percent bare rock and moss cover, and the numbers and diversity of trees, shrubs, and plants on 25 sampling sites, each containing ten measuring quadrats selected at random. Sixteen sites were on the Quatsino Formation, a well-karstified limestone, and nine on the Karmutsen Formation of basaltic lavas. Eight sites were of virgin forest, 16 were logged between 1970 and 1983, and one (on limestone) was logged in 1911. Both bedrock types were significantly affected by the cutting. There was greater loss of soil and an increase in bare rock on the limestones. Erosion was increased significantly by burning on the limestones but not on the volcanics. Within-group comparisons on the limestones determined that steeper slopes and harder burned areas suffered the most and are slowest to regenerate. Volume of timber on the 1911 site was 19 percent of that in similar uncut forest sites. It appears that complete recovery on the barren limestone slopes will require at least some centuries.     

Subsidence hazards in different types of karst: evolutionary and speleogenetic approach

The typology of karst, based on distinguishing the successive stages of general hydrogeological evolution, between which major boundary conditions and the overall circulation pattern change considerably, gives a natural clue to classify and tie together karst breakdown settings, speleogenetic styles and breakdown development mechanisms. Subsidence hazards vary substantially between the different karst types, so that classifying individual karst according to typology can provide an integrated general assessment. This provides a useful basis for selection and realization of region- and site-specific assessment schemes and management strategies. Intrastratal karst types, subjacent karst in particular, are most potent in generating subsidence problems. Exposed karst types, especially open karst, are the least likely to pose subsidence hazard problems, despite their being recognized more obviously as karstic areas.     

Protection of karst aquifers in the Dinarides in Croatia

 This paper presents karst water protection measures being introduced in the Dinarides of Croatia. The spring sites for the water supply of the town of Rijeka, for its 200 000 inhabitants and the largest harbor of the northeastern side of the Adriatic Sea, have been used as a pilot research area. The European research project was used, and protection of water was generally divided into three phases. A categorization of springs has been made, and five basic protection zones have been distinguished. The rules of behavior in protected zones have been outlined. For the first time, the term water-supply "reserve" has been introduced, referring to the parts of the mountainous region where karst groundwater is recharged. Received: 26 March 1997 · Accepted: 22 July 1997     

岩溶路基病害与处置技术国内外研究现状

随着我国西部大开发战略的实施,岩溶问题已成为南方岩溶地区突飞猛进的公路建设,特别是高速公路建设面临的主要地质问题。本文以近年来国内外与岩溶有关的公开出版的最新研究成果为基础,针对目前与岩溶路基病害处置密切相关的隐伏岩溶的探测技术、岩溶洞穴稳定性与风险评估、岩溶塌陷的试验测试、岩溶塌陷监测预报以及岩溶病害的防治方法等方面,系统总结了国内外学者的最新研究现状。最后,在分析国内外差距的基础上,提出我国岩溶路基病害防治技术的研究应包括岩溶路基病害的分类和处置方法体系研究、路基病害发育过程的大型模型试验研究、隐伏岩溶地球物理探测方法的有效性研究、高新技术在高风险区岩溶路基变形破坏监测中的应用研究等方面。