engleski

Ecohydrology of karst poljes and their vulnerability

Karst is estimated to cover about 25 % of the surface of all the continents. It represents a type of landscape with many specific surface and underground features, which facilitate and accelerate the exchange of surface water and groundwater. By this way karst strongly influences the development of the environment and its ecosystems. The total area covered by karst poljes represents approximately 2 % of the total karst area. Although they are relatively small in size, they are extremely significant from an ecological, social and economic standpoint. The importance of karst poljes is that they are the larger, fertile, and inhabited oases in karst, commonly providing the only conditions favourable for human beings as well as for the development of a rich but very vulnerable and mostly endemic karst flora and fauna. Karst poljes’ ecological role is extremely important but till now not enough recognized and investigated. Due to strong and uncontrolled anthropogenic pressures during the last hundred years karst poljes belong to the most endangered environments on the Earth. A wide range of closed surface depressions, a well-developed underground drainage system, and a strong interaction between circulation of surface water and groundwater typify karst. Due to these reasons karst represents an extremely vulnerable and hardly predictable hydrological-hydrogeological as well as ecological system. In this article, special attention is paid to ecohydrological functions of karst poljes, which play a crucial role in: (1) hydrology and hydrogeology of water circulation and storage ; and (2) provide support for a sustainable development of biological diversity for many rare and endangered species. The dramatic degradation of global water resources during the last two centuries has forced environmental and geoscientists to focus and intensify their research on integration of biological processes with hydrology and hydrogeology. The pattern and intensity of hydrological variability especially in karst media significantly influences biotic structure and activity. On the other hand, biotic structures may regulate abiotic ones. As a result of these interrelationships, a new concept called ecohydrology has emerged (Zalewski 2002). A greater demand of the technical, natural and social sciences for information and interdisciplinary investigations to protect and manage all processes in karst poljes emerged. The aim of this article is to move forward the discussion among different disciplines using karst ecohydrology as the efficient tool in order to ensure sustainable development and biological diversity of vulnerable karst polje ecosystems. In the paper shortly are presented the various threats that karst poljes are facing due to human interventions, especially in terms of hydrology and water resources management. The goal of this paper is to give an insight into the importance of karst hydrology for the overall ecological functioning of the superficial and subterranean compartments of so important karst ecosystems as the karst poljes are. The intention of this article is to encourage scientific and professional discussions that will lead to a more complete development of karst ecohydrology in case of ecologically, socially and politically so important karst landscape as the karst poljes are.

karst polje, karst ecohydrology, flood, anthropogenic influence

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