Kapova Cave (Shulgan-Tash) is located in Bashkortostan, the Southern Urals, in the Shulgan Tash Reserve on the Belaya River. Its coordinates are 53°02’ N; 57°03’ W. It is a large karst three-level system of chambers, galleries and wells having the total length of 3323 m with vertical amplitude of 165 m. The karst system is characterized by large chambers and galleries, great dynamics of microcl...

Species diversity of Brazilian cave fauna has been seriously underestimated. A karst area located in Felipe Guerra, northeastern Brazil, which is a hotspot of subterranean diversity in Brazil, has revealed more than 20 troglobitic species, most of them still undescribed. Based on recent samplings in this karst area, we document the occurrence of the suborder Cavernicola (Platyhelminthes) in Sou...

Five periods of increased electrical conductivity have been found in the karst conduits supplying one of the largest first magnitude springs in Florida with water. Numerous well-developed conduit networks are distributed in the Woodville Karst Plain (WKP), Florida and connected to the Gulf of Mexico. A composite analysis of precipitation and electrical conductivity data provides strong evidence...

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 ...

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...

The article “Characteristics of Point Recharge in Karst Aquifers, Water 6: 2782–2807” by N. Somaratne evaluates various recharge estimation techniques applied to four limestone aquifers in South Australia. Somaratne [1] concludes that methods based on watertable fluctuations, groundwater modelling and water budgets are independent of recharge processes, and are therefore superior to the chlorid...

L. aenigmamus is endemic to the limestone formations of the Khammuan Province (Lao PDR), and is strongly specialized ecologically. From the survey of 137 individuals collected from 38 localities, we studied the phylogeography of this species using one mitochondrial (Cyt b) and two nuclear genes (BFIBR and GHR). Cyt b analyses reveal a strong mtDNA phylogeographical structure: 8 major geographic...

Soil nutrients and microbial communities are the two key factors in revegetation of barren environments. Ecological stoichiometry plays an important role in ecosystem function and limitation, but the relationships between above- and belowground stoichiometry and the bacterial communities in a typical karst region are poorly understood. We used pepino (Solanum muricatum) to examine the stoichiom...

The European COST action 620 proposed a comprehensive approach to karst groundwater protection, comprising methods of intrinsic and specific vulnerability mapping, validation of vulnerability maps, hazard and risk mapping. This paper presents the first application of all components of this Pan-European Approach to the Sierra de Líbar, a karst hydrogeology system in Andalusia, Spain. The intrins...

Excessive Ca is toxic to plants thus significantly affects plant growth and species distribution in Ca-rich karst areas. To understand how plants survive high Ca soil, laboratory experiments were established to compare the physiological responses and internal Ca distribution in organ, tissue, cell, and intracellular levels under different Ca levels for Lysionotus pauciflorus and Boea hygrometri...