2. What is a Karst?
• A karst is a type of landscape characterized by rock outcrops and cave systems,
formed by interaction of water on limestone.
• It starts with limestone, which allows water to flow through vertical and horizontal
cracks in the stone, then by the process of carbonation, the limestone is gradually
weathered.
• Some of the features of such landscapes include cave systems, formations of
speleothems, of stalagmites, of pillars, of flowstones, of rimstones, disappearing
streams, sinkholes, dry valleys, types of basins called polje, and gorges.
This is an image of a karst from the Ozark Highlands.
Karst from Wulong National
Geology Park in China
3. How Do Karsts Affect Life on Earth?
• Karsts are part of the world’s carbon cycles and can also be considered carbon sinks. This means that karsts absorb carbon dioxide, therefor
helping remove it from the atmosphere.
• Karst landscapes are home to a rich diversity of various animals and plants, both above and below the ground.
Popa Langur, newly discovered in 2020.
One of ~24 species of geckos found
only in limestone karsts outcrops.
Limestone Langur (Delacour Langur)
Ghost Snail found in
Croatian karst.
Bat found in Angkor
Wat temple in
Cambodia Blind cavefish
found in Thailand.
4. What’s the Problem?
• Unfortunately, one of the main components of karst formation, limestone, is the one that humans use for making cement.
• The destruction involved in quarrying and mining is incredibly dangerous to the landscape as a whole, including the species
living there.
Quarrying in a Czech Republic karst…
Quarry in Slovenia…
Quarry in Southeast Asia
Quarry in Malaysia Landslide as a result of
quarrying killed ~29 people
in the Philippines in 2018.
5. What Can Be Done?
• The main solution we can work towards is putting focus on conservation.
• In some countries, like Myanmar and Vietnam, conservation organizations are making efforts to showcase the countless
species that live there.
• If we follow, create, and work with conservation organizations, we have the chance to show how quarrying affects every
aspect of karst landscapes.
