Subterranean Fishes of the World

4201

2018

314-329

Finlayson, C.M., Milton, G.R., Prentice, R.C. and Davidson, N.C.

Springer

Dordrecht

The wetland book. Volume 2

Karst is a term used for characteristic landscapes, landscape features, and phenomena developed in water soluble and porous carbonate rocks on surface and underground. The name originates from the stony limestone region Kras/Carso on the border of Slovenia and Italy where it was first studied. Carbonate rocks outcrop across some 13.2% of world’s land area, yet subterranean carbonate rocks with karst groundwater circulation extend to an even larger area, estimated to about 14% of world’s land area. Surficial karst wetlands function interdependently with their subterranean “counterparts” to maintain their ecological character. Karst wetlands occur in all regions of the world but their complexity, values, and ecosystem services are still not fully recognized and many are threatened by economic developments (tourism developments, agriculture, fisheries) that depend on the same wetland resources.

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