Projects supported by UNESCO/IUGS IGCP

1. IGCP299 -- Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Karst Formation (1990-1994)

The International Correlation on Geology, Climate, Hydrology and Karst Formation has been carried out under a common technical requirement drafted and agreed by all the collaborators. It included the relationship between different kinds of karst features ( surface and subsurface ones, macro forms and micro forms, solutional forms and depositional forms ) and basic factors controlling the development of karst features ( such as geological, climatic, biologic, and hydrological conditions ).

The project has also included the correlation on environmental changes in major karst regions arround the world. Different kinds of geological records, such as those reflected in karst features, surface and cave sediment, isotopic data, has been collected, identified, and interpreted for different time scale with care.Final report:Global Karst Correlation.

2. IGCP379 -- Karst Processes and the Carbon Cycle (1995-1999)

Goal and Objectives

(1). To assess the contribution of carbonate rocks to the content of CO₂ in atmosphere through karst processes, especially dissolution and precipitation, this aspect of the global carbon cycle has been little studied to date.

(2). To compare the annual balance of CO₂ between the atmosphere and karst system under different geological, climatic and ecological environments.

(3). To determine the origin and amount of annual emission of CO₂ into the atmosphere from karst areas with geothermal, volcanic activities or active fault, especially those near plate margins.

(4). To provide informations about the processes of environmental change after the late Pleistocene in major karst regions of the world, especially those without other paleoenvironmental information (such as ice cores, lacustrine deposits or eolian
deposits).

Research Emphases

Focus1. Comparison of on-going karst processes based on in-situ monitoring, in an attempt to find out the role of modern karst processes in global carbon cycle.

Focus2. The role which karst processes may play in global greenhouse gas budget.

Focus3. To get high resolution karst records for paleoclimate reconstruction with all the available new techniques for selected transect of the world.

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3.IGCP 448:

WORLD CORRELATION ON KARST GEOLOGY?nbsp;AND?ITS?RELEVANT? ECOSYSTEM

A new UNESCO/IUGS IGCP project,?the IGCP448 “World?Correlation on Karst Geology and Its Relevant Ecosystem?span style="mso-spacerun: yes">?/span>was? approved by?the IGCP Scientific Board?at its?28^th meeting, held? early February, 2000 in Paris.? The?Project?is? accepted?for implementation?from?2000?to 2004.

It is a successor?project of?IGCP 299“Geology,Climate,Hydrology?and?Karst formation?1990-1994),?and IGCP 379“Karst Processes and the Carbon Cycle?1995-1999).

The proposal of?the IGCP448,written? by?Prof. Yuan Daoxian?of? the Institute of Karst Geology, Guilin, China, was first?initiated? at?the Joint IGCP379 and Friends of Karst Symposium?in?Bowling Green,USA,September,1998. It?is?supported? by?the?major international karst organizations , including?the Karst Commissions?of IAH , IGU,?and UIS, and? National?IGCP Committees?of Romania, Spain, Vietnam?and China. Moreover, it?gets? written supports?from?many? individual?karst?scientists? of?the?world.

FULL?TITLE : World?Correlation on?Karst? Geology and Its?Relevant?/span>Ecosystem
SHORT?TITLE : World?Correlation? on?Karst?Ecosystem
DURATIOIN :?5?years (2000-2004)
PROPOSER : Yuan Daoxian, the Institute of Karst Geology, 40 Qixing?Road,?Guilin,
                         Guangxi 541004, the People’s Republic of China,Tel. +86 773 5834232,
                         Fax. +86 773 5837845, email: dxyuan@mailbox.gxnu.edu.cn,
                         Website: http://www.gxnu.edu.cn/KDL?nbsp;

WHY?THE? PROJECT

From the? works of?IGCP 299“Geology, Climate, Hydrology?and Karst formation?(1990-1994), and IGCP 379“Karst? processes?and the Carbon Cycle?1995-1999), it is? recognized?that?the ecosystem in ?the karst regions of the world with billion of population is?fragile, and characterized?by? calciphile, petrophile (photo 1), xerophile(photo2) and?a subterranean ecosystem(photo3,photo4)?as a? result?karst hydrological system?and?Ca-Mg rich? geochemical?background.?However,? its?impact?on? human?life is? quite?different?in different karst regions with?varied ecological features. For instance, the intensive karstification and underground drainage?system?can? bring?about?serious? ecological?problems,such?as? rock desertification?in?southwest? China karst(photo 5).

Photo 1,?Trees?grow?on?limestone? rock,with?root?system? penetrating?deeply?into rock fissures,?/span>a?scenario?frequently?seen? in?limestone?regions? with?very?thin? soil,?nbsp;
photo?taken? from?near the HuangGeshu?Waterfall,Guizhou,China

Photo 2,?The? xerophile?Cactuses grow in dry karst?regions?even?with?annual? precipitation?more than?1000 mm. The drought?is? originated?from?serious? leakage?through karst?hydrological system.?nbsp;Photo? taken?from?Anshun, Guizhou, China

Photo 3,?A blind? cave?beetle?Speagonum mirabile Moore,
discovered in caves at about 2200m asl in the highlands of? Papua New Guinea
(Philip Chapman , British Cave Expedition,1975)

Photo 4,?A cave spider ,Porrhomma convexum, crossing the base of a branching white fungus , on which hangs a trapped fungus gnat, Speolepta leptogaster, in G.B Cave,
Mendip,UK(Philip Chapman,1981)

? However, in?some?boreal?or temperate?humid? karst regions,?underground?hydrological system is?beneficial? toforest or?agriculture(photo 6, photo 7, photo 8).?World comparison on? karst ecosystems?will?enlighten knowledges?on the mechanism?of? how?different?karst? ecosystems?coming?into? being, and?thus?benefit? more?reasonable?treatment of?ecological?problems?and? sustainable?development in?karst.? It?is?therefore?in?keeping? with?the?guideline? of?IGCP “Geoscience?in? the?service?of? society?

Photo 5, the landscape?of?rock desertification?on? hillsides?near?Liangsuatun? village,
Anshun, Guizhou, China

Photo 6,?Taiga?forest?along?Kama Reservoir, Perm, Russia

Photo 7, Potato field?near Kungur, southeast of Perm, Russia, showing?the?advantage?nbsp;
of underground karst drainage system? for?agriculture

Photo 8,?Dense forest?above? doline?with sinkholes, Droop?Mountain region, West Virginia,USA

OBJECTIVES?OF?THE? PROJECT

1,To? compare?the?karst? ecological?systems?in? tropical (photo 9) and subtropical, Mediterranean (photo 10), Gondwana(photo11), arid and?semiarid and other?regions,?their? mechanism?of?formation,and?different?impacts?on? human?life;

photo 9, stone?pinnacles, Gunoug Api, Mulu, Sarawak,Malasia

photo 10, rock?desert?at?Kornat?Archipelago? on?Adriatic Sea, Croatia

photo 11,Eucalyptus forest in karst? regions?of?southeast? Australia, good?for mitigating?soil ?/span>salinization? problem?by?lowering? groundwater table?through its?strong?evapotranspiration.

2, To? compare the microscopic? karst?ecological?system as? affected by?different?geochemical? background?and?phase of carbonate rocks(photo12, photo 13),?especially? its?impact?on? species selection(photo 14)? and?biodiversity, and?thereafter the?rehabilitation?of?karstlands;

photo 12, Tall, steep subtropical tower karst, developed on?hard compact Devonian limestone, Guilin, south China. Although?spectacular? in?landscape, this?kind of limestone is not?favourable for?soil?formation?and? water?detention, so that?the? ecological problems are more? serious.

Photo 13, Low ,rounded subtropical cockpit karst, developed on soft porous Tertiary carbonate rocks, Puerto Rico . In general, ecological problems in karst?regions based on such young?phase soluble?rock?are?not as worse as those on?old phase hard compact carbonate rocks.

Photo 14,Honeysuckle,a species?of?herb medicine growing?on? carbonate rocks?in?south China, but is found?to? develop?better?on? particular?strata with?certain kind of trace elements .

3,To compare the subterranean ecological systems of karst?on?both geographical and geological views, and explore?their?differences on the evolution of? troglobite, troglophile and trogloxene? species and relation with surface species (Fig.1).

Fig.1, A model of energy flow? between?rock, soil,fauna,?and flora in a subterranean?ecological system (George W.Moore, G.Nicholas Sullivan,1978)

4,To compare the?mutual effects?of?karst ecological system?and human activities, e.g, the impacct of karst ecological system on agriculture,forest, human health (photo 15, photo 16), and on?the? other hand,the impact of?human?activities (urbanization, timbering, mining, quarrying, agriculture, and etc.)?on?karst?ecological? system(photo 17,? photo 18).

Photo 15,The early-maturing wheat? in Gubeng polje,Xichou county,Yunnan province. Only this kind?of?crop can grow in the?polje because it?is?flooded?by? the underground stream in the summer? year?after?year.

Photo 16, The?plant?called as Zijingzelan in Chinese?is? originated?from Vietnam,?but now? spreads over?karst?regions? in?Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi?provinces, and restrains?the? growth?of?other? useful?plants.

Photo 17, The? deforestation?process following cultivation on slope steeper than 25 degree,? occurred?in Mashan region,Ziyun County,Guizhou,China.

Photo 18,Small patches?of?soil? tilled to?grow? maize in limestone?fissures?between rocks. The scene illustrated?is? near?Zhulinqing village,Pingshan township in northern Puding county,Guizhou? Province.

RELATIONSHIP?WITH? PREVIOUS?PROJECTS

IGCP 299: Concentrated on the correlation of?karst? morphology and its? environments?of?formation

IGCP 379: Emphasis on the impact?of? karst processes?on?global change, especially on the source and sink of greenhouse?gas, and paleoenvironmental?reconstruction?with karst? records

IGCP 448: Will? concentrate?on the?ecological? problems?of?karst.

THE?RESULTS? OF?IGCP448?EXPECTED

1, A? guideline?to?use? properly?the experiences?in? the?rehabilitation of?deteriorated karstlands?being?got from different?types?of?karst? ecological system?of?the world.

2,A better?understanding on?the?hydrological?and?geochemical?behaviours? of?different?karst? dynamic?system in?the context of?carbon cycle,?water?cycle? and?element?migration? as?bases of more? reasonable?and?sustainable land?use?in? karst areas.

3,The use?of?knowledges on the behaviours?and?changing of ?/span>subterranean biological? community?in?karst? areas?for?various? aspects?of environmental?study and protection, e.g, as indicators of?surface?environmental change(water pollution,soil erosion etc.); as self-purification agent in?karst system;?or ?/span>as?winter refuges?for? beneficial or?injurious?animal? and insects.

IMPLEMENTATION

    Karst? scientists?will?work together?with?biologists, geologists, geographer,?and? scientists?of?many? other disciplines;
    Methodologies?of   comparision?will? be?worked?out? on the?bases?of? available knowledges?of?karst? ecology;
    World   correlation?will?be? carried?out?on? typical?sites?of? differeent?karst ecological system.

TENTATIVE?WORK? SCHEDULE

1,First year (2000).?A? detail?plan?for the next?5?years will?be? prepared?in?a? workshop.?It?will? include?the selection?of? of karst?sites?under? different?geological?and climatic?background for?understanding the?relationship of?geochemical conditions with flora selection,?biodiversity and the rehabilitation?of karstland;?for? comparing?the karst environment and the evolution of subterranean species;? and?comparing?the mutual effect?between?human activities and karst?ecological system.?The workshop will?also?define?the? methodology of?correlation,?such?as the geological and other components?of?karst? ecosystem?and?indicators? of?its?deterioration,?the?criteria? of?links?between? karst?geology and?ecological? condition;?content and? techniques?of?monitoring,? the?GIS in ecogeological?mapping.

Working? group?meetings with field excursions will?be?held? in?July 14 to 23,2000 in?Cluj, Romania ( contact: Dr.Bogdan Onac,email: bonac@bioge.ubbcluj.ro, http://www.uib.no/people/nglbn/karst2000.htm)

In? August 6-17,2000?in?conjunction with the?20-6? symposium of the 31^st International Geological Congress,Rio de Janeiro,Brazil(contact: Dr.Ivo Karmann,email: ikarmann@spider.usp.br,?or? the Organizing Committee of 31^stIGC:31igc@31igc.org ).

In September17-26,2000,Marmaris,Turkey (contact: Prof.Gultekin Gunay,ggunay@hacettepe.edu.tr,?www.karst.hacettepe.edu.tr ).

2,The second year(2001).?A? workshop?to?examine? the?karst ecosystem in subtropical?humid?monsoon areas and semiarid areas.

The relationship between?land use change and?rock desertification in karst,?and geochemical?background of?successful?or failure in?rehabilitation?will?be? investigated.?Working?group? meeting?in?Beijing, August24-27,2001,?and? field?seminar in?south? China, August 28 to September 2,2001 ( contact: Beijing, Mr.Wang Wei, Cagsdic@public.bta.net.cn,?for? field?seminar?in? Guilin, Prof.Yuan Daoxian, dxyuan@mailbox.gxnu.edu.cn ).

3,The third year(2002). Working?Group meeting inNerja Cave(S.Spain) and field trip in Sierra de las Nieves Massif, an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Spain ( contact: Dr.Bartolome Andreo Navarro, email: andreo@uma.es ).?Karst ecosystem?of Mediterranean?climate, human? impacts on karst?groundwater and caves will?be?examined.?After?the meeting, a field?seminar? in?South France in?arranged.

It is to? learn the mechanism of? subterranean species? evolution?in?different? types of karst (Moulis,Foussoubie,Terrieu) and its reflection on?ecogeological?condition.

4,Fourth year(2003). Working group?meeting? and?field?seminar in Perm,Russia?to compare the karst?ecological? features in?a boreal environment?with? those?of others.?The? impacts?of?human activities, especially?mining? on?karst?ecosystem will be investigated in?the? field. A?tentative?summary? of?the?Project?will?be? made.

5,Fifth year(2004).?To? work?out?a? final?report, which?will? summarize?the?results? of?world?correlation? on?all?the four?objectives of the Project.?A?working group?meeting?will be?held in? Buchan karst, Victoria, Australia? to?examine?the? karst ecogeology?of?Gondwana? environment.

SUGGESTIONS?AND? COMMENTS ARE?WELCOME

Any? suggestions?and?comments on? the basic ideas, objectives, methodologies, selection of field correlation sites or?work?schedule? are?very?much welcome. They?should?go?to the proposer?of?the Project,?Prof.Yuan Daoxian,?The Institute of Karst Geology, 40 Qixing Road,?Guangxi 541004,The People’s Republic of China,?email: dxyuan@mailbox.gxnu.edu.cn,?Tel.+86 773 5834232,?Fax.+86 773 5837845.

Newsletters from IGCP299 Project and IGCP 379 Project. Altogether 9 issues has been pressed, in which 5 for IGCP299, 4 for IGCP379. The latest issue came out later year of 1999. A book " Globe Karst Correlation " (Eds. Yuan Daoxian & Dr. Liu Zaihua) published by Science Press of China and VSP Scientific Publishers, Netherland.

IGCP299 Newsletters:


1990		1991


1992	1993		1994

IGCP379 Newsletters:


1996	1997


1998	1999

IGCP448 Newsletters:

2001 Newsletter