China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
The historical perspective
Published in David Drew, Heinz Hötzl, Karst Hydrogeology and Human Activities, 2017
There are three major types of karst in mainland China: subtropical humid karst in south China, semiarid karst in north China, and high mountain karst in the west. Karst hydrogeology and other karst features have linked with social and economic development in many respects. In north China, more than 50 big karst springs each with a minimum discharge of more than 1 m3·s−1 are the major source for local water supply. However, the Cambrian-Ordovician karst aquifers are overlain by Carboniferous coal measures which are the main energy source in China. The potential for conflicting resource-exploitation environmental impacts given such a hydrogeological setting are apparent. In south China, the long-term intensive karstification and the strong Cenozoic uplift mean that the region is characterised by thin soils and a shortage of surface water, even though there are 2836 underground streams with a total length of 13,919 km, and total minimum discharge of 1482 m3·s−1. All these hydrogeological features and relevant karst phenomena have been long investigated by the Chinese people.
Periphytic diatoms of the Mediterranean karst spring Sa Vena (Su Gologone system, Sardinia, Italy): relationships with environmental variables and effects of an extreme flash flood
Published in Inland Waters, 2018
Giuseppina G. Lai, Luc Ector, Carlos E. Wetzel, Nicola Sechi, Antonella Lugliè, Bachisio M. Padedda
Springs are among the most representative surface components of karst systems (Ford and Williams 2007). They contribute to the maintenance of numerous surface aquatic ecosystems and wetlands (Ravbar and Kovačič 2015) and host a wide variety of ecological niches (Culver and Pipan 2009) with rich and diversified biocenoses (Wehr and Sheath 2015). Karst springs also provide good quality waters (Stevanović 2015) that may require light treatments to achieve compliance with drinking water standards (e.g., Koch et al. 2013). According to UNESCO, they are the most significant and safest source of drinking water (Aureli 2010) and supply ∼25% of the world’s population (Ford and Williams 2007).