The alpine karst regions in Austria. Research and utilisation yesterday, today and tomorrow

The main karst regions in the Austrian Alps are situated in two parts of the Northern Limestone Alps.

The first one is formed by vaste high alpine plateaus in the Salzbourg and Salzkammergut regions, the second one by a pre-alpine "green" karst especially in Northeastern Alps in Upper Styria and Lower Austria.

In all these regions, human utilization is older than the scientific research.

In the pre-alpine karst, the forests have been the base of economic development since the middle age, but only the modern forestry produces ecoIogical problems.

The landscapes of the high alpine karst are influenced also by extensive utilization since the middle age, but more or less in a natural way. Since more than hundred years, the water supply of important cities including the capital Vienna, is garantued by the waters from the karst springs of these regions.

Nevertheless, systematic research on the karst hydrology has been realized not before the end of the Second World War.

Many studies since this time provided us with not only regional, but also important methodical and general results. In the same period, the scientific exploration of caves and the discovery of new cave systems have been very successfull. For example, the actually longest Austrian cave system, the Hirlatzhohle (Dachstein, Upper Austria), with 70 kilometers of measured galeries, has been totally unknown until to 1949.

The actual environmental problems, the planned or realized intensive touristic exploitation of high alpine karst and cave regions, as well as the possibilities of future scientific research and related measures are discussed.