What you need to know and to be able to do
Homo quantum scit, tantum potest. (Latin) Man can do as much as he knows.
Basic knowledge
Recommended topics about karst on which teachers and team mentors prepare the students' teams.
- What is karst, where and why it is formed. Distribution of karst around the world.
- Which sciences explore karst. How, by what methods is karst studied.
- What are the karst processes and what they depend on.
- Which factors affect the formation of karst. What is the role of man.
- How climate affects karst.
- Soil-vegetation cover - a factor and product of karst.
- What karst forms are formed and what is typical of karst relief.
- What kinds of waters form and run in karst territories.
- What distinguishes the karst landscape from other types of territories.
- Which are the typical plant and animal inhabitants of karst. Are there any who live only in a karst environment.
- What is the role of karst in the history of mankind (caves like sanctuaries and holy places).
- What is a karst geosystem, what are its basic elements and structure.
- Why the karst geosystems are fragile and vulnerable to impacts - natural and anthropogenic ones.
- What is monitoring and why it should be applied in karst geosystems.
- What are the resources of karst and how they are used by humans.
- Tourism in karst - potential, types and problems. Educational tourism about karst.
- What are the most important problems in karst territories caused by human activity and global changes.
- How to protect karst. Protected karst territories - status and types.
Skills
Recommended skills of the students from the teams, guaranteeing their successful performance in the competition.
- Working with maps;
- Orientation on a terrain and in a cave;
- Teamwork;
- Recognizing the soluble rocks in which karst is formed;
- Using basic chemical formulas describing karst processes;
- Recognizing the basic karst forms - surface and underground ones;
- Recognizing plant species typical of karst terrain;
- Interviewing/surveying representatives of the local community in karst areas;
- Conducting field observations and descriptions of processes and objects;
- Assist using research methods and experiments in natural field conditions;
- Knowledge of the basic rules for penetration and work in cave systems;
- Knowledge of the status of protected karst territories;
- Rationalizing and application of knowledge acquired in different subjects to solve specific practical tasks in a real karst environment;
- Evaluating the potential of a karst territory and formulating recommendations for the environmentally friendly use of its resources;
- Evaluating the impact of economic activity (industrial and/or agricultural) on a karst territory;
- Basic skills for statistical data processing and graphical representation (diagrams, graphs, maps, etc.);
- Survey on a given question via the Internet;
- Developing and using multimedia presentations;
- Presentation and protection of team-coordinated ideas and solutions of a given case study in a karst territory;
- Demonstration of personal sports, artistic, creative and technical skills in the karst environment.
In preparation for the competition, please feel free to use the reference in the Guide book (the rubric Help Inquiry, developed for the participants)