Karst Environments: Problems, Management, Human Impacts, and Sustainability: An Introduction to the Special Issue

Karst systems are extremely complex, and due to a number of geological and hydrological characteristics, they can be included among the most fragile and vulnerable environments in the world. Complexity of karst is expressed bythe enormous variations existing in different karst regions (White, 1988). The difficulties inherent in such variability were appropriately described by Beck (1999), who wrote, ‘‘Learning to understand the systematics of karst terrain and how to deal with it safely requires serious effort—often a lifetime of study.’’ This means, in other words, that man must make a strong effort to learn to live ‘‘in harmony with’’ karst, rather than to live ‘‘on’’ karst. Many problems we face when interacting with karst environments are best solved through changes in human systems rather than through alterations of karst environments. This is because subtle changes in fragile karst systems change them significantly. Because karst covers 10 to 20% of the earth’s surface and provides 40 to 50% of the world’s drinking water (Ford and Williams, 2007), it requires a specific approach to mitigate negative human impacts and allow sustainable development. In this sense, protection of karst groundwater is essential in many countries. Karst hydrologic systems are highly vulnerable to pollution, water withdrawals, and changes in land use (Bakalowicz, 2005; Calo` & Parise, 2009). In addition, the dissolution of limestone creates voids in the subsurface that can lead to collapses that directly affect the built environment by inducing severe damage, property loss, and disruptions to daily life. Management of karst environments is a very delicate matter, and how to manage pollution, karst hazards, and human impacts on karst landscapes is a question worthy of discussion (White, 1990; Parise and Pascali, 2003).