Land use in karst terrain: review of impacts of primary activities on temperate karst ecosystems

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) There is an acknowledged lack of information available to managers of New Zealand's karst estate on the impacts of primary activities on these sensitive environments. A review of the international literature was undertaken to begin to address the issue. Subjects of particular interest were identified by Department of Conservation staff and included, in order of priority: forestry, agriculture and quarrying, followed by a second range of activities including landfilling, groundwater chemistry changes, urbanisation, cave climate and near-entrance vegetation change, and also conservation legislation. While there is a volume of literature on karst, it is largely devoted to the science of karst processes rather than the impacts of primary activities. In many cases the science is robust and the likely impacts of primary activity can be adequately assessed. In the future, improved communication by karst managers and researchers and the people living on, and in contact with karst landscapes on a daily basis will lead to better informed and directed research on the impacts of human occupancy on karst ecosystems.