The Southwest China Karst, the largest continuous karst zone in the world, has suffered serious rock desertification due to the large population pressure in the area. Recent trend analyses have indicated general greening trends in this region. The region has experienced mild climate change, and yet significant land use changes, such as afforestation and reforestation. In addition, out-migration...

This study aims to reveal the runoff variation characteristics of long time series in a karst region, analyse comprehensively its different driving factors, and estimate quantitatively the contribution rates of climate change and human activities to net runoff variation. Liudong river basin, a typical karst watershed in southwest China, is the study site. Statistical methods, such as linear fit...

Karst aquifer studies often focus on allogenic water inputs and large conduit flow. However, diffuse recharge can be significant, particularly in unconfined eogenetic karst aquifers that retain high matrix permeability. This study examines an unconfined region of the upper Floridan aquifer (USA) that hosts a sinking stream, its resurgence, and a large conduit system. Daily diffuse recharge was ...

The Grain to Green Program (GTGP) and eco-environmental emigration have been employed to alleviate poverty and control rocky desertification in the Southwest China Karst region. Carbon sequestration and oxygen production (CSOP) is used to indicate major ecological changes, because they involve complex processes of material circulation and energy flow. Using remote sensing images and weather rec...

A new subgenus and new species of anophthalmic trechine beetles, Oodinotrechus (Pingleotrechus) yinae subgen. n., sp. n., is described and illustrated from a limestone cave called Chaotianyan in southern part of Guilin karst, northeastern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The new taxon is very different from the Maolan-Mulun congeners belonging to the nominate subgenus Oodinotrechus (s. str.) U...

Karst flash flooding, identified as one of the hazards in karst terrains, is directly linked to the structure and hydraulic properties of karst aquifers. Due to the characteristics of flow within karst aquifers, characterized by a dual flow – diffuse flow within fissured limestone and conduit flow within karst conduits networks – flash flooding may be important in volume and dynamics. Such phen...

The water louse Asellus aquaticus is a widespread, euryoecious species, mostly uniform throughout its range. However, six subspecies are known from the Dinaric karst in the northwestern Balkans. They include some specialized subterranean populations. The pattern of genetic variation among subterranean and surface populations in this hydrographically highly fragmented karst region was investigat...

Enhanced indoor radon levels are frequently found in the western part of the Swiss Jura mountains, a karst region. The activity in the limestone bedrock is low ( 20 Bq/kg). In the thin soil overburden the =Ra activity concentration is 2 to 3 times higher than in soil samples from the Swiss Plateau but on the average still below 100 Bq/kg. It is supposed that the radon problem in this region is ...

This study represents the first investigation of microbiological groundwater pollution as a function of aquifer type and season for the Apulia region of southern Italy. Two hundred and seven wells were randomly selected from those monitored by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection for emergency use. Both compulsory (Escherichia coli, Total Coliform, and Enterococci) and optional (Pse...