Cave Conservation: A Microbiologist’s Perspective

Abstract

Rocks and landforms are the Earth’s memory. Included among landforms are caves, formed by erosion and the weathering of rocks. The most common types of caves are found in limestone and other calcareous rocks, and in lava tubes on basaltic rock. The remaining types, including those formed in gypsum, quartzite, sandstone, and granite, are usually limited in extent and not always found and investigated. The United Nations Educational, Scienti fi c and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) encouraged the identi fi cation, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage of outstanding value to humanity. For UNESCO, natural heritage refers, among other things, to outstanding geological formations with scienti fi c, conserva- tion, or aesthetic value (e.g. caves), and cultural heritage refers to sites with historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scienti fi c, ethnological, or anthropological value (e.g. caves with rock art). Some