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Karst Landscapes in Austria

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Landscapes and Landforms of Austria

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

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Abstract

The term karst refers to specific geomorphological processes and thereof resulting in characteristic landscapes. About one-fifth of Austria consists of lithologies—mainly limestone, dolomite, and marble—susceptible to dissolution (i.e. karstification). Those lithologies occur in every landscape including the complete range of altitude: Northern Calcareous Alps, Southern Calcareous Alps, Helvetic units, Central Eastern Alps, Bohemian Massif, Alpine forelands, and Neogene basins. Consequently, Austrian karst landscapes are also subjected to a suite of non-karstic geomorphological processes, resulting in a great variety of endo- and exokarst features with distinct modifications. Small-scale solution features (karren) and dolines are very common. At high altitudes, these features have been exposed to processes related to Pleistocene glaciations. Moreover, karst springs with high discharge variabilities are well-known hydrologic features. Austria hosts 18,100 caves, and some of them are amongst the longest and deepest in the world. Although the majority of the caves are of epigenetic origin, some caves are also related to hypogene speleogenesis. Imprints from human activities on the karst environment can be traced back to the Palaeolithic period. Today, human-karst interactions are of particular importance: karst aquifers provide the catchment areas for drinking water supply for several municipals and karst landscapes represent resources for tourism, recreation, and furthermore. Not least, research in karst and caves makes an important contribution to science (e.g. palaeoclimatology).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Regional Science, University of Graz, Heinrichstrasse 36, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Christian Bauer

  2. Karst and Cave Group, Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, 1010, Wien, Austria

    Lukas Plan

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  1. Christian Bauer
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  2. Lukas Plan
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Correspondence to Christian Bauer .

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  1. Department of Geography and Regional Research, Universität Wien, Wien, Austria

    Christine Embleton-Hamann

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Bauer, C., Plan, L. (2022). Karst Landscapes in Austria. In: Embleton-Hamann, C. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Austria. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92815-5_5

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