Karst in China, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1995 Its Geomorphology and Environment Springer Series in Physical Environment Series, Vol. 15

The writer has been occupied with karst problems for 50 years and first visited China in 1977 as leader of a Royal Society delegation of British geomorphologists - the first delegation from the UK to visit China since the inauguration of the new China and at the end of the Cultural Revolution (Sweeting 1978). It was clear from that visit that a study of the Chinese karst would help our understanding of the problems of karst development and that many of the geomorphological difficulties which at times had stultified karst thinking in Europe, might gain from the Chinese approach and ideas. First, for example, the Chinese karst is in its initial stages much more fluvial in origin than that of the Dinaric karst. Problems which worried European karst geomorphologists, such as dry val­ leys and the debates about karst base levels and the water table have not worried the Chinese so much. The development of the S Chinese karst has proceeded from an original fluvially eroded land­ scape which was later karstified. Secondly, the large area distri­ bution of limestones in China, and the spectacular areas of karst, compared with the often relatively small areas of karst in Europe, have focussed our attention upon the fundamental issues of karstification, rather than upon the endless discussions on the ori­ gin of the small and less significant landforms in the karst.

1 The Physical Context of Karst in China.- 1.1 The General Physical Setting.- 1.2 The Distribution and Nature of Carbonate Rocks in China.- 1.3 Tectonic Controls.- 1.4 Present-Day Climatic Controls.- 1.5 The Importance of Quaternary Climatic Change.- 1.6 The Distinctive Character of the Chinese Karst Environment.- 2 The Significance and History of Karst Studies in China.- 2.1 Western Knowledge of Karst in China.- 2.2 The History of Development of Karst Studies in China.- 2.3 The Resources and Attitudes to Karst Science in China.- 3 Karst Terminology and Karst Types in China.- 3.1 Karst Terminology.- 3.2 Karst Types.- 3.3 The Main Types of Chinese Karst.- 4 The Guilin Karst.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Peak Forest (Fenglin).- 4.3 The Peak Cluster (Fengcong).- 4.4 Age and Origin of the Guilin Karst.- 5 The Cone Karsts of Guizhou.- 5.1 The Cone Karst of Shuicheng.- 5.2 The Canyons of Guizhou.- 5.3 The Caves of Guizhou.- 5.4 The Slope Zone of Maolan.- 5.5 The Age and Origin of the Karst in Guizhou.- 6 The Karsts of Yunnan.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Conclusions on the Karst of Yunnan.- 7 Karst in Other Parts of South China.- 7.1 Karst in Southern and Western Guangxi.- 7.2 Karst in Hunan and Hubei and the Changjiang Gorges.- 7.3 Karst in the Lower Changjiang Region.- 7.4 Conclusions on the Karst of South China.- 8 The Karsts of North China.- 8.1 Introduction.- 8.2 Karst in the Qinling Mountains.- 8.3 The Shanxi Plateau.- 8.4 The Karst of Shandong.- 8.5 The Karst of the Zhoukoudian and Xishan Areas, SW of Beijing and Other Hilly Areas near Beijing.- 8.6 Karsts in NE China.- 8.7 Deep or Buried Block Mountain Karst in N China.- 8.8 Conclusions on the Karsts of N China.- 9 High Altitude Karst: The High Mountain Karst of West Sichuan.- 9.1 The High Mountain Karst of West Sichuan.- 10 The Karst of Tibet and Other Parts of Chinese Central Asia.- 10.1 Introduction.- 10.2 The General Context of Karst of Tibet.- 10.3 Chemical Features of Karst Groundwaters in Tibet.- 10.4 Surface Karst Features.- 10.5 Caves and Cave Sediments.- 10.6 Some Conclusions on the Tibetan Karst.- 10.7 The Salt Karst of the Qaidam Depression.- 10.8 Conclusions on the Karst in Tibet and Chinese Central Asia.- 11 Karst Hydrogeology and Chemical Characteristics of the Karst Water.- 11.1 General Comments and Behaviour of Karst Water.- 11.2 Contrasts Between Karst Water in North and South China.- 11.3 Karst Water Heterogeneity.- 11.4 Epikarstic Water.- 11.5 The Chemical Quality of the Karst Water.- 11.6 Conclusion.- 12 The Position of China in World Karst Studies.- 12.1 Geological Influences.- 12.2 Physiographical Influences.- 12.3 Climatic Influences.- 12.4 Influences of the Quaternary Period.- 12.5 Influences of Land Exploitation.- References.

This book attempts to explain Chinese karst geomorphological concepts to Western readers. The first part of the book give a general discussion of the background to the study of karst geomorphology in China. This is followed by a consideration of different regional areas of karst, particularly those in South and West China. Throughout the book, the author tries to make comparisons with karst regions in Europe and elsewhere. The book is illustrated by many diagrams from Chinese sources and the author's own photographs.