In the past decade, GIS and Database Management Systems (DBMS) have been widely used to manipulate and manage karst features in karst regions. Several countries have built or have started to build national karst feature databases to enhance data accessibility and resource management. Following the publication of the 2002 Cave and Karst GIS special issue by the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, the journal of Environmental Geology is seeking original, previously unpublished papers which apply GIS and DBMS technologies to scientific studies and environmental conservations in karst regions. All submitted papers will be peer-reviewed and the accepted ones will be published in a special issue of Environmental Geology. We plan to have this special issue published in 2006. This publication aims at promoting the metadata development of karst features and introducing innovative GIS and DBMS approaches to visualize, manage, and analyze karst features at regional and national scales.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Manuscript submission: Dec. 31, 2005

Reviewer's comments: Mar. 31, 2006

Final paper submission: June. 30, 2006

GUEST EDITORS

Dr. Yongli Gao, Box 70652, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City , TN 37614 , Tel: (423) 439-4183, Email: karstgis@etsu.edu

Dr. Wanfang Zhou, P.E. LaMoreaux & Associates, Inc., 106 Administration Road, Oak Ridge , TN 37830, Tel: (865) 483-7483 Email: wzhou@pela-tenn.com