The effects of human impacts on cave and karst biodiversity, two examples from south-east Asia

Objectives

To bring together Indonesian and Thai researchers in a joint project working toward improving local and regional cave and karst management.

• To create working links between ASEAN and EU.
  
• To assess cave biodiversity for selected groups: snails, crustaceans, arachnids, moths, beetles, collembola, fish and bats.
  
• To relate cave biodiversity to the relative impacts of selected human activities: logging, tourism and agriculture.
  
• To make recommendations for the management of cave biodiversity.
  
• To create cave biota reference collections in the National Museums of Indonesia and Thailand.
  
• To integrate data into respective national biodiversity databases.
  
• To publish results in a project report and scientific journals.

Research Theme

• Biological Uses and Values

Activities

• Selection of comparable study sites (representative of disturbed and undisturbed karst habitats.
  
• Undertake field collections to account for seasonal variation. The sampling techniques that will be used include: light trapping, hand collecting, pitfall traps, sunken pitfall traps, Berlese Tullgren funnels, soil sieving, mist nets, kick netting, electro fishing and vegetation sampling.
  
• Study surface biodiversity fluxes to and from karst so as to investigate: (i) the faunal drift at karst resurgences, (ii) bat colonies and (iii) local inquiries in surrounding populated areas about karst plant use.
  
• Study the different aspects of cave and karst biodiversity and relate this to the relative impacts of selected human activities: logging, tourism and agriculture.

Expected Outcomes

• Assessment of karst surface biodiversity and distribution patterns for selected groups: vegetation, snails, collembola and moths.
  
• Information on the spatial, ecological and trophic distribution patterns for cave biota.
  
• Information on the effects of human impacts on cave biodiversity.
  
• Recommendations for the management of the karst biodiversity.

Indicative Budget

• 115,102 euro

Duration

• Two year

Project site

• Indonesia and Thailand

ARCBC Remarks

• Must be linked also to the karst studies in Sarawak and maybe other studies to come under ARCBC limestone mini-theme.

Coordinators