This paper investigates how variation in forest structural characteristics affects the water retention capacity of gaps and forests fir-beech Dinaric Karst. Forests are identified as a key element landscape for provision pristine resources, particularly highly vulnerable karst aquifers characterized by rapid infiltration recharge water, high subsurface permeability, heterogeneous underground fl...

Mining operations in China are often threatened by frequent water inrushes from confined karst aquifers, We need to evaluate the risk from water-inrush from coal floors in order to have safe production in mines. water inrush risk assessment method based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is introduced in this paper. A secondary fuzzy comprehensive evaluation system is constructed to evaluate the...

Epilithic and endolithic biofilms were found to control the formation of stromatolites in karst-water creeks. We used microsensors to determine the influence of biological processes on chemical conditions within the microenvironment of crystal nucleation sites: the stromatolite surface. Phototrophic members of the biofilms consisted of mainly cyanobacteria and diatoms. Oxygen, pH, calcium, and ...

Mobile particles play crucial roles for contaminant transport in karst aquifers, but few studies have investigated the relationships between sediment dynamics and contaminants. This is partly due to the diffi culty in monitoring suspended particles: Turbidity is easy to measure but does not deliver detailed information on the size and type of particles; mineralogical laboratory analyses are lab...

Green plants play an important role in matter and energy transformations and are key messengers in the carbon and energy cycle. Vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) reflects the capability of plants to convert solar energy into photosynthate (fixed carbon). It can be used as a direct indicator of current status and future trend of ecological processes affected by human activities and clima...

Papers published in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions are under open-access review for the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Abstract We investigated one of the best-known and second largest karst areas in Germany (Blautopf Catchment) that offers a unique access waters of the unsaturated zone through a large cave system. As tracers for water flow and storage we measured ...

The Northern Guam Lens Aquifer (NGLA) presents unique challenges to modelers due to the complex hydrologic properties of its thick karst vadose zone. To meet these challenges, we developed VADOCHARGE, an analogue model based on the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Streamflow Synthesis and Reservoir Regulation (SSARR) model, to produce the effect of attenuated and lagged recharge through the vadose z...

Karst ecosystems are fragile and are in many regions degraded by anthropogenic activities. Current management of degraded karst areas focuses on aboveground vegetation succession or recovery and aims at establishing a forest ecosystem. Whether progressive succession of vegetation in karst areas is accompanied by establishment of soil biota is poorly understood. In the present study, soil microb...

Key parameters controlling the recharge and behavior of Mediterranean karsts were selected in order to make a quantitative description of northeastern Mediterranean karsts on a regional scale. The methodology was applied to an actual karstic aquifer on the Siou-Blanc Plateau (France). For the recharge study, it was observed that the average yearly rainfall value and δ18O measurements in springs...