Remote Mountainous Areas Research Articles

Optimal utilization of water resources for local communities in mainland Greece (case study of Karyes, Peloponnese)

Water is the basis of our civilization and the development of society is intertwined with the exploitation of water resources in various scales, from a well dug to irrigate a garden, to a large dam providing water and energy for a large area. However, for remote mountainous areas, intermittent natural water resources and high seasonal demand the above tasks become challenging. Here we discuss various alternative management options and appropriate solutions on how to exploit water resources meeting the above restrictions under limited infrastructure budgets. As a case study we examine the area of Karyes in Peloponnese that meets the above criteria, exploring various solutions to satisfy the water demand.

The economic and geographical analysis of the spatial organization of economic activity of the Soyots (indigenous people) on the Eastern Sayan territory

The Soyots (indigenous minorities) live in a remote mountainous area of the Baikal region within the limits of the Okinsky District, the Republic of Buryatia. The main type of economic activities of the soyots is the traditional use of natural resources. In this study, we have carried out economic and geographical analysis of the spatial organization of economic activity of the Soyots on the Eastern Sayan territory. Some researchers consider that the traditional use of natural resources by indigenous people is a vulnerable social and economic system, which requires state support and cautious attitude. Traditional farming and traditional lifestyle are the indispensable living conditions for indigenous people. The possibility of their survival and development in modern conditions is an important problem to be addressed. The study of the current form of the traditional use of natural resources is a priority and needs to be analysed, considering modern social and economic conditions. In a time of industrialization, large-scale development of natural resources of the Eastern Sayan resulted in disturbance of such territories. The Government of the Republic of Buryatia and administration of the Okinsky District have important tasks to preserve the unique area, where the Buryat and Soyot ethnic groups live and create conditions for rational use of natural resources. Unique climatic conditions in the Okinsky District are suitable for both reindeer breeding and cattle farming. The analysis of ethno-economic systems has revealed the areas characterized by the traditional use of natural resources and its spatial-temporal aspects on the Eastern Sayan territory.

Rural area government purchases “safe drinking water project” obstruction and sustainable planning

When we open the webpage to search for “China Water Resources”, we can see such a data: China’s total freshwater resources account for 6% of the world’s total freshwater resources, and its per capita possession is only 2,400 cubic meters, which is 13 poverty-stricken waters worldwide. One of the countries. China is a country with extremely scarce water resources. Water has always been one of the important factors in urban and rural construction. With the rapid development of the national economy, the shortage of water resources has increasingly become a problem. In 2002, China launched a large-scale South-to-North Water Transfer Project, which solved the water problem of more than 400 million urban populations, and the urban water use plan has become more perfect. The “Guiding Opinions on Improving the Living Environment of Rural Areas” (2014) pointed out that by 2020, the basic conditions of rural housing, drinking water and travel in the country have improved significantly, and the problem of safe drinking water in rural areas has gradually entered the public management line of sight. However, in rural areas, especially in remote mountainous areas, lack of water resources, scattered living, and limited infrastructure construction funds, it is not only difficult to achieve centralized water supply, but also trigger a series of grassroots disputes. It is hoped that by analyzing the implementation effect of the “safe drinking water project”, exploring the difficulties and obstructions of rural water resources development, in-depth “anatomy” of the problem, clarifying the “pathogenic source”, in order to solve the problem, and strive to reduce ecological damage on the basis of sustainable development. Rationally plan and use water resources to achieve smooth progress in rural safe drinking water projects.

Changing use of ecosystem services along a rural-urban continuum in the Indian Trans-Himalayas

Urbanization is changing the use of ecosystem services, especially in previously remote mountain areas in Asia, Africa, and South America that are now more accessible. Change in ES use is not uniform across society, but is impacted by socio-economic factors like income. We sought to understand changes in ES use along a gradient of urbanization, and as related to income differences along this gradient. Our study was conducted in Spiti Valley, a formerly remote region in the Indian trans-Himalayas that is undergoing urbanization. We employed household surveys and monetary valuation to assess use of local (wild plants, dung, wood, forage, water, fertilizer, barley) and imported (firewood and fertilizers) provisioning services. We used ANOVAs and ANCOVAs to test for differences in ES use with urbanization and income. We found that the use of local provisioning services decreased with urbanization, while that of imported provisioning services increased. In rural spaces, the use of local provisioning services did not change with income, while in small urban centres it increased with income. Across settlement types, imported ES use increased with income. Our findings highlight how ES use can change with relatively small amounts of urbanization. They also indicate that local provisioning services need to be made accessible not only to rural populations but also to those in relatively more urban areas.

Assessment of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Himalayan Riverine Network of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

The emission of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in South Asian countries is one of the great environmental concerns and has resulted in the contamination of surrounding high altitude regions such as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan. This first investigation of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCBs) concentrations in the ambient air, water and surface soil was conducted along the extensive stream network in the AJK valley of the Himalayan Region. In 2014, surface soil samples were taken and passive air and water samplers were deployed along the four main rivers, namely Jhelum, Neelum, Poonch and Kunhar, and analysed for PCBs (33 congeners) using GC-MS/MS. The ∑33PCBs concentrations ranged from 31.17 to 175.2 (mean ± SD: 81 ± 46.4 pg/L), ND to 1908 (1054 ± 588.5 pg/g), and 29.8 to 94.4 (52.9 ± 22.7 pg/m3) in surface water, soil and air matrices, respectively. The levels of dioxin-like PCBs (∑8DL-PCBs) contributed considerably towards the total PCBs concentrations: 60.63% (water), 43.87% (air) and 13.76% (soil). The log transformed air-water fugacity (log fa/fw) ratios ranged from −9.37 to 2.58; with 86.3% of the sampling sites showing net volatilization of selected PCB congeners. Similarly, the fugacity fractions for air-soil exchange exhibited narrow variation (0.8 to < 1) indicating net volatilization of PCBs. The ecological risk assessment showed low potential ecological risks (Eri = 1.58–7.63) associated with PCB contamination. The present findings provide baseline data that suggest cold trapping of POPs in the remote mountainous areas of Pakistan and can support environmental management of POPs at the regional level.This pioneer investigation campaign to assess the PCBs concentrations in Himalayan Riverine Network of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan helps to develop baseline data of PCBs from the strategically important riverine environment that would help in future regional as well as global ecological studies. However, the effects of temperature variations on the sampling rates of chemicals across a wide spectrum of volatility along the elevation gradient were not taken under consideration for PCBs atmospheric concentrations.

Rural Tradition and Cultural Identity of the Ionian Islands

In recent years, people are more and more exhorted to “go back to tradition”. This tendency testifies every thinking person’s reflection on how tradition affects the cultural identity of the place where he lives. The subject of this study is the rural tradition of the four Ionian Islands, Kefalonia, Corfu, Zante and Lefkada, as well as its contribution to the shaping of their common cultural identity. At a time when there is high economic, political and social instability, it is important to recognize the cultural identity of a specific area of Greece, the Ionian Islands, located in the Ionian and the Adriatic Sea, a region of great geopolitical significance. Since the Ionians’ economy was based on agriculture (olive cultivation, viticulture), livestock farming (cheese making), fishing and bee-keeping, these activities formed an integral part of the culture and the history of each place and its residents. The eating habits of the traditional farming societies are benchmarks of their cultural level. The products of the Ionian Islands are closely linked to several social events as well. In that way, they show the connection that exists between a place’s cuisine and culture. Many rural customs and eating habits of the Ionian Islands originate from their centuries-old traditions. They are linked to the farmers’ concern on the land’s fruitage. Nowadays, due to the technological evolution, some Ionian traditions are extinct. They may still exist in remote mountain areas, but in that case they fulfill the purpose they traditionally had.

Design of Remote Expert Evaluation System in Remote Mountainous Area Based on Cloud Service Platform

Faced with limited technical strength and resource protection requirements in remote mountainous areas, a remote expert evaluation system was designed based on a cloud service platform. On the basis of the analysis of system users, the remote expert evaluation system was structured, and then the cloud platform service architecture and the system functions were designed. This cloud platform construction could enhance the informatization level of the planning review process and improve the efficiency and the scientific nature of the review process.

Ethnic and religious affiliations affect traditional wild plant foraging in Central Azerbaijan

Gathering and consuming wild food plants are traditional practices in many areas of the world and their role in fostering food security has been increasingly discussed in recent years. In this field study, we focused on traditional foraging among Azeris, Tats, Russian Molokans, and Udis in Central Azerbaijan. Via 78 semi-structured interviews, with an equal number of individuals from the four ethnic/religious communities, 73 wild food folk taxa were recorded. While Caucasian autochthonous Udis have a restricted use of wild food plants in comparison with the other groups, possibly due to the fact that they live in a plains area that is horticultural-driven and well-connected, the most divergent ethnobotany was exhibited by the Tats (10 folk taxa exclusively used by them) which may be related to both their cultural and geographical isolation and the fact that this community was endogamic until only a few decades ago. Whereas the Azeri plant cultural markers are mainly retained by refugees from Karabakh, Russian Molokans, who represent a distinct, conservative ethno-religious group, seem to have preserved a few ancient Slavic culinary uses of wild plants (Armoracia rusticana Gaertn., B.Mey. and Scherb., Crataegus spp., Rumex acetosella L., and especially Viburnum opulus). Tat cultural markers were represented by barberries (especially in their original lacto-fermented preparation) and Ornithogalum spp., while for Udis Smilax excelsa L. shoots were particularly salient, as were wild Allium, Chaerophyllum, Prangos, Smyrnium, and Tragopogon spp. among the Azeris. Overall, the practice of traditional foraging is alive in the Azeri Caucasus in the most remote mountainous areas and this heritage is the result of a complex co-evolution, in which both human ecological trajectories and cultural attachment to certain plant tastes have possibly shaped specific foraging patterns over centuries.

Compliance with care and poor sleep quality among hypertensive adults in a mountainous area of Hubei Province, People's Republic of China.

BackgroundLittle information is available concerning the relationship between compliance with hypertensive care and poor quality of sleep among Chinese adults in rural areas. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the compliance with hypertensive care and sleep quality for hypertension of adults in a mountainous area in People's Republic of China.MethodsA total of 551 hypertensive patients (30–96 years of age) living in a remote mountainous area were recruited. Poor sleep quality was assessed using the standard Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and compliance with care was measured based on the Compliance of Hypertensive Patients Scale (CHPS). Hypertension was defined as blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg or treated with antihypertensive medication. The associations between sleep quality and compliance variables were examined using Pearson’s correlation. Multiple linear regressions were established to verify significant variables associated with respondents’ compliance with care and poor sleep quality.ResultsThe average age of the sample was 67.15 years (SD=10.20), and 56.44% of the participants were female. The mean CHPS total score was 41.97 (SD=5.91), and the PSQI total score was 7.91 on average (SD=4.10). Correlation analysis revealed that patients with higher intention, healthier lifestyle, positive attitude and total compliance were more likely to have an increased risk of poor sleep quality. According to the results of multiple linear regression analyses, hypertension compliance was significantly associated with being female, married, non-rural residence and years of hypertension, while poor sleep quality had a significant association with living in rural areas, having concomitant disease and poor hypertension compliance.ConclusionsThere is a significant association between hypertension compliance and poor sleep quality. Future intervention programs should focus on improving compliance behavior as a modifiable background factor for sleep quality.

Living a dog’s life: a putative gray wolf in a feral dog group

Abstract The gray wolf and the domestic dog are closely related species that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. In settings where unrestrained dogs are present in the wild, hybridization can happen naturally. However, the behavior of the resulting hybrids and their ecological impact is largely understudied. In September–November 2018, a putative gray wolf was repeatedly camera-trapped in a group of 10 presumably feral dogs in a remote mountainous area (the Osogovo Mountain) along the border between Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The most feasible explanation for this individual’s atypical behavior is that it is of hybrid origin (assumption based on phenotype). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first documented observation of such a kind. A discussion of its recruitment and position in the group is presented, setting the basis for further investigation of the complex interaction between wolves, dogs and hybrids in the wild.

Effect of health education based on behavioral stages transformation theory in domestic peritoneal dialysis patients in remote mountainous areas

Objective To explore the effect of health education based on behavioral phased transformation theory in remote peritoneal dialysis patients in remote mountainous areas. Methods Totally 84 cases of peritoneal dialysis catheterization in our hospital from April 2016 to May in -2018 were selected as the research subjects. After discharge, home peritoneal dialysis was performed. According to the random number table method, 42 cases in each group were divided into observation group and control group. The control group was given routine treatment and traditional health education. On the basis of conventional treatment, the observation group established a behavior based phased transformation of health education as a means of intervention. The two groups were all intervened for 6 months. Volume status and self-care behavior were evaluated and compared between the two groups within one week of admission and six months after intervention. Results Before intervention, there was no significant difference in the capacity load between the observation group and the control group (P>0.05). The systolic and diastolic blood pressures of the observation group after intervention were (131.21±11.73) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133kPa) and (80.24 ±10.62) mmHg respectively, which were significantly lower than those of the control group (140.31 ± 12.87) mmHg and (85.75 ± 11.73) mmHg, with significant differences (t=3.455, 2.302, P 0.05).The total score of the self-care ability scale in the observation group was (122.11 ± 8.52) points, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (94.24 ± 10.71) points. The difference was statistically significant (t=313.198, P<0.01) . Conclusion Health education based on the theory of behavioral phased transformation can help patients with peritoneal dialysis in remote mountainous areas to improve their capacity and improve their self-protection behavior, which has educational guiding significance. Key words: Behavioral phased transformation theory; Health education; peritoneal dialysis; Volume overload; Self-care behavior

In Situ Hyperspectral Remote Sensing for Monitoring of Alpine Trampled and Recultivated Species

Vegetation, through its condition, reflects the properties of the environment. Heterogeneous alpine ecosystems play a critical role in global monitoring systems, but due to low accessibility, cloudy conditions, and short vegetation periods, standard monitoring methods cannot be applied comprehensively. Hyperspectral tools offer a variety of methods based on narrow-band data, but before extrapolation to an airborne or satellite scale, they must be verified using plant biometrical variables. This study aims to assess the condition of alpine sward dominant species (Agrostis rupestris, Festuca picta, and Luzula alpino-pilosa) of the UNESCO Man&amp;Biosphere Tatra National Park (TPN) where the high mountain grasslands are strongly influenced by tourists. Data were analyzed for trampled, reference, and recultivated polygons. The field-obtained hyperspectral properties were verified using ground measured photosynthetically active radiation, chlorophyll content, fluorescence, and evapotranspiration. Statistically significant changes in terms of cellular structures, chlorophyll, and water content in the canopy were detected. Lower values for the remote sensing indices were observed for trampled plants (about 10–15%). Species in recultivated areas were characterized by a similar, or sometimes improved, spectral properties than the reference polygons; confirmed by fluorescence measurements (Fv/Fm). Overall, the fluorescence analysis and remote sensing tools confirmed the suitability of such methods for monitoring species in remote mountain areas, and the general condition of these grasslands was determined as good.

Seasonal characteristics of biogenic secondary organic aerosols at Mt. Wuyi in Southeastern China: Influence of anthropogenic pollutants

Thirteen secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers of isoprene, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were measured for PM2.5 aerosols collected at the summit of Mt. Wuyi (1139 m, a.s.l.), to investigate their seasonality and formation mechanism. Concentrations of the isoprene and monoterpene SOA tracers were much higher in summer than those in other seasons. In contrast, β-caryophyllinic acid was found to be the lowest in summer. Concentrations of those BSOA tracers showed a positive correlation with temperature (R2 = 0.52-0.70), and a negative correlation with relative humidity (R2 = 0.43-0.78). Moreover, thermodynamic model (i.e., ISORROPIA-II) calculation results showed that acidity conditions are favorable for BSOA formation. Robust linear correlations between the BSOA tracers and anthropogenic pollutants such as SO2 (R2 = 0.53-0.7) and NO2 (R2 = 0.37-0.54) were observed for all the samples, suggesting that SO2 and NOx can enhance BSOA production in the remote mountain area of southeast China, which is related to an acid-catalyzed heterogeneous chemistry. Moreover, we also found a significant correlation between the concentrations of the BSOA tracers and levoglucosan especially for β-caryophyllinic acid, indicating that biomass burning plumes from the distant lowland regions could influence the production of BSOA in the mountain free troposphere. Our results clearly demonstrated that anthropogenic emissions in China could enhance BSOA formation in the distant mountain regions.

Tropical Andes Radar Precipitation Estimates Need High Temporal and Moderate Spatial Resolution

Weather radar networks are an excellent tool for quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE), due to their high resolution in space and time, particularly in remote mountain areas such as the Tropical Andes. Nevertheless, reduction of the temporal and spatial resolution might severely reduce the quality of QPE. Thus, the main objective of this study was to analyze the impact of spatial and temporal resolutions of radar data on the cumulative QPE. For this, data from the world’s highest X-band weather radar (4450 m a.s.l.), located in the Andes of Ecuador (Paute River basin), and from a rain gauge network were used. Different time resolutions (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60 min) and spatial resolutions (0.5, 0.25, and 0.1 km) were evaluated. An optical flow method was validated for 11 rainfall events (with different features) and applied to enhance the temporal resolution of radar data to 1-min intervals. The results show that 1-min temporal resolution images are able to capture rain event features in detail. The radar–rain gauge correlation decreases considerably when the time resolution increases (r from 0.69 to 0.31, time resolution from 1 to 60 min). No significant difference was found in the rain total volume (3%) calculated with the three spatial resolution data. A spatial resolution of 0.5 km on radar imagery is suitable to quantify rainfall in the Andes Mountains. This study improves knowledge on rainfall spatial distribution in the Ecuadorian Andes, and it will be the basis for future hydrometeorological studies.

Governing the yarshagumba ‘gold rush’: A comparative study of governance systems in the Kailash Landscape in India and Nepal

Under present conditions of economic globalization, social-ecological systems undergo rapid changes. In this context, internal and external forces put heavy pressure on the governance systems of commons to adapt effectively. While institutional learning has been identified as a key element for the adaptive governance of social-ecological systems, there is still limited knowledge of what roles communities and governmental actors play in these processes. In this study, we take the case of yarshagumba (English: caterpillar fungus), a formerly non-valued product in the Himalayas, which has recently been transformed into a highly valuable resource within a short time. We compare the governance systems in collection sites in the Kailash Landscape in India and Nepalby using an analytical framework developed by Pahl-Wostl (2009). Our findings show that in these remote mountain areas, communities and community-led organizations are highly flexible in responding to immediate resource value changes by establishing communal management arrangements. At the same time, however, communities have difficulties to enforce their newly developed informal and formal arrangements. During the process of learning the link between the amendment of arrangements on community-level and the revision of formal policies and frames at the state or national level is only partly established. Against this background, we argue that in the context of rapid change, adaptive governance requires the concerted interaction of actors at the local and the national levels in order to enable the sustainable use of common pool natural resources.

Biomonitoring trace element contamination impacted by atmospheric deposition in China's remote mountains

The purpose of this study is to better understand the key driving factors affecting the distribution of trace elements in remote mountainous areas at a national scale. In this regard, eight trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, Zn) in mosses were investigated at thirty remote mountains across China. The sources and possible factors controlling the distribution of trace elements in the mosses were identified through multivariate statistical analysis and Pb isotopic ratios. The results showed that the concentrations of trace elements in the mosses were higher than the levels in most European countries but comparable to those in Chinese cities. Mosses had the highest concentration levels of Cd and Sb and slightly lower levels of other trace elements. Spatially, moss contamination with the trace elements was significantly higher in the eastern, southern and southwestern China than in other regions. Mining-related activities, fuel combustion and other industrial emissions were identified as the main anthropogenic sources of As, Cd, Pb, Sb and Zn, whereas Cr, Cu and Ni were mainly from natural sources. The precipitation from monsoons clearly altered the distribution of anthropogenic elements in the mosses. The results of this study indicate that the trace elements in the mosses of China's remote mountains were affected by regional anthropogenic emissions, and the monsoon-dominated trace element transport and deposition should be highlighted at a large regional scale. These findings provide baseline data for future targeting policies to protect remote ecosystems from long-term inputs of trace elements via long-range atmospheric transportation.

Study on Integrated Communication Enhanced Link Based on Signal Detection, Frequency Conversion and Forwarding

Remote mountainous areas have complex terrain, so the information transmission capacity of communication links have been greatly restricted. In addition, the maritime areas have the problem of limited communication base stations and limited communication links as well. Currently, the most commonly used air-based platforms for spectrum forwarding, which only support a small coverage of areas, fail to achieve wide-area or cross-regional signal connectivity, and only support a limited number of concurrent users. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated communication enhanced link based on frequency detection, conversion and forwarding, which solves the problem that information sharing is not stable. And the simulation results verify that the proposed integrated communication enhanced link addresses the problem of multiple users (up to 150) to communicate concurrently in a cross-region area (radius 50 km) which may have mountains in between. And also, the proposed air-based platform only requires a low power of energy, so that the platform can work longer time in the air.

Optimal dispatch of hybrid energy islanded microgrid considering V2G under TOU tariffs

In order to achieve a prospective economic effect of renewable energy generations and vehicle to grid (V2G), this paper proposes an optimal dispatch method of wind-PV-battery microgrid considering V2G under time-of-use (TOU) tariffs for those isolated communities in remote islands and mountainous areas. A cooperative dispatch strategy and an optimal dispatch model are both presented for the total operation cost minimization and higher utilization of renewable energy generation. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed method is effective and feasible.

The value of satellite retrieved snow cover images to assess water resources and the hydropower potential of ungauged mountain areas

The estimation of water resources in ungauged areas is of major importance to develop adequate and sustainable water management strategies. Hydrological modelling can provide a powerful tool to assimilate hydro-meteorological data and estimate the total amount of water available from ungauged areas. Satellite images provide important information on the snow cover area in inaccessible mountain areas. The Hydrologiska Byråns Vattenbalansavdelning model (HBV) was used to estimate the total amount of snow, ice and rainfall runoff in two ungauged areas in north-eastern Iceland (Leirdalshraun, a 274 km² area above 595 m a.s.l. and Heljardalsfjöll, a 946 km² area above 235 m a.s.l.) that could potentially be used for hydropower production. The model parameters were determined using a multiple dataset calibration (MDC) relying on one year of satellite derived snow cover images and discharge data of gauged sub-catchments. Runoff from the ungauged area potentially used for hydropower exploitation was estimated using the parameter sets of the gauged sub-catchments. Snow cover in the ungauged areas as well as discharge in the gauged sub-catchments were validated over a 10 year validation period, revealing a robust simulation of snow melt in the entire area. The total amount of snow-melt, ice-melt and rainfall runoff available in Leirdalshraun and Heljardalsfjöll amounts up to ∼690 M m³ a$^{−1}$ and ∼1190 M m³ a$^{−1}$ , respectively. The theoretical potential energy of these water resources would account for up to 1.9 TWh a$^{−1}$, a tremendous hydropower potential if the water could be collected in respective reservoirs and be deviated to turbines at sea-level. While the results are only valid for the specific case study, the modelling approach can be applied to any remote mountain area dominated by snow melt runoff.

Coupled hydrogeochemical evaluation of a vulnerable karst aquifer impacted by septic effluent in a protected natural area

Karst aquifers are highly vulnerable to pollution from human activities. Among sources of these contaminants, septic tank effluent can easily pollute karst aquifers, especially concentrated inputs such as those, for example, from tourist hotels. However, the impacts of septic effluent from relatively large, concentrated inputs on karst aquifers have seldom been assessed previously and therefore provide the focus of this study. Artificial tracer tests, geochemical analysis, and dual nitrate stable isotopes were employed to evaluate the impacts of a concentrated input of septic effluent from the Jinfoshan Holiday Hotel (JHH) on the vulnerable Shuifang Spring (SFS) karst aquifer in a remote mountainous area, the Jinfoshan Karst World Heritage Site within Chongqing Municipality of southwest China. The results of artificial tracer tests showed that the underground flow mainly occurred in a primary conduit with a pooled or bifurcated flow path that connects a sinkhole input to SFS. The high tracer recovery rates suggest that the karst aquifer was characterized by high intrinsic vulnerability to contamination. Chemographs at SFS responded rapidly to the episodic release of effluent from JHH. Decreased pH and dissolved oxygen and elevated turbidity, specific conductance and NH4+ concentrations of SFS resulted from the episodic release of septic tank effluent from the JHH during high-use periods. Although the nitrate concentrations were far below the guideline value of the Standard for Groundwater Quality of China, the isotopes of δ15NNO3 and δ18ONO3 suggest that nitrate flowing from SFS was primarily derived from manure and sewage, in addition to soil organic N. Thus, episodic release of septic effluent provides a challenge to the sustainability of karst groundwater management. The results of this study may be relevant to other remote and mountainous karst environments where tourism provide otherwise scarce economic resources and particularly to protected sites throughout the world.