Participants of the project

Aim of the project

The recent research of karst areas both in Hungary and at the international level is justified by their high sensitivity. As a result of human activity the processes of the karst system are modified, which has an impact e.g. on the quality of water, which in turn endangers the water supplies of the population. This proposal therefore includes the investigation of the landuse changes in karst areas. Our aim is to reveal the processes occurring on karsts, with a special emphasis on the changes of forest cover and the state of karstic lakes in the light of global change. The research will consist of the evaluation of landuse changes in some bigger consistent karst areas in Hungary, with special regard to the extension and use of forests (the location and areas of clearcuts, the spreading of non-native species, etc). Changes will be evaluated by field sampling, lab analysis and remote sensing methods. We plan to use Landsat TM and ASTER satellite imagery, archive and recent aerial imagery as well as Digital Surface Models. Prospective results are landuse maps for different time slots (e.g. before the democratic transformation and present) and change maps; an analysis of change and the comparative analysis of the different karst areas; proposals for further management. The results will be included in an internet database, which could later serve as a basis for a general karst information system.