Problems and Solutions about Use of Different Karst Lands in Southern China

This paper is aimed to analyze the current situation and problems about use of various karst environments via filed survey, documentation and comparison methods, and to make reasonable recommendations about land use and management for different karst types in a bid to provide theoretical and practical basis for optimization of karst land use and the comprehensive control of karst rock desertification. The results show that,① as the bare karst areas are lack of water and soil and highly prone to droughts and floods, land utilization in such areas should follow the principle of soil and water conservation and ecological restoration, emphasize both the ecological benefit and the economic benefit and reasonably configure the land resources to achieve the virtuous circle;②in covered karst areas, the most important task is to take measures to prevent the appearance of secondary kast rock desertification, water exhaustion and karst collapse;③ the buried karst areas shall mainly focus on prevention of overlaying sand shale collapse, and possible pollution of deep karst water and the surface land resulted from exploration and exploitation of oil and gas and geothermal water.④ The final conclusion is that features and problems of land utilization of the three karst types are different from each other, and that the general principle for land use in karst regions shall be based on the local conditions.