Human Footprints in the Karst Landscape: The Influence of Lime Production on the Landscape of the Northern Dalmatian Islands (Croatia)

Josip Faričić,Kristijan Juran

doi:10.3390/geosciences11080303

Abstract

Throughout history, the production of lime on the Croatian islands, which are mostly made of limestone and dolomite, has been an important economic activity. In the northern Dalmatian islands, which are centrally positioned on the northeastern Adriatic coast, lime was produced for local needs, but also for the purposes of construction in the nearby cities of Zadar and Šibenik. On the basis of research into various written and cartographic archival sources relating to spatial data, in addition to the results of field research, various traces of lime production have been found in the landscape of the northern Dalmatian islands. Indications of this activity in the insular karst are visible in anthropogenic forms of insular relief (lime kilns, small quarries, stone deposits) and in degraded forms of Mediterranean vegetation. This activity has also left its mark on the linguistic landscape in the form of toponyms, indicating that lime kilns were an important part of the cultural landscape.

Highlights

Dalmatian Islands (Croatia).The object of the research that preceded this article is the impact of lime production on landscape changes in the northern Dalmatian islands
The production of lime in the northern Dalmatian islands was an important form of the utilization of natural resources
This was substantially influenced by the prevailing carbonate bedrock of the islands in the Adriatic External Dinarides and the constant demand for lime, which was used in construction works and agriculture in the pre

Summary

Introduction

Dalmatian Islands (Croatia).The object of the research that preceded this article is the impact of lime production on landscape changes in the northern Dalmatian islands. Lime was produced on the islands for local needs in the construction sector (as a binding material, and for the plastering and painting of inner walls) and in agriculture (to protect grape vines and fruit trees against pests and vermin). There existed a widespread method of lime production as evidenced by archeological traces in various inhabited and economically used areas [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15], in which basic raw materials (limestone and dolomite) and energents (fossil fuels and timber) were available [5,9,15,16]. Lime production has been described in various historical sources

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