Monitoring Human Impact in Show Caves. A Study of Four Romanian Caves

(1) Background: Show caves are unique natural attractions and touristic traffic can trigger their degradation within a short time. There are no universal solutions to counter the effects of the touristic impact upon the cave environment and both protection protocols and management plans have to be established on a case-by-case basis. (2) Methods: The study includes four show caves from the Romanian Carpathians, where monitoring of the number of visitors, paralleled by the monitoring of the main physicochemical parameters of the air and water (CO2, temperature, humidity, drip rate, conductivity, and pH) was implemented. (3) Results and Conclusions: The results of the study have: established a set of basic principles to be enforced by the management of show caves and issued a set of preventive measures and instructions to be followed by the personnel and stakeholders of the caves.

Automated summary

Touristic traffic can lead to degradation of show caves, requiring specific protection protocols and management plans; monitoring of visitor numbers and physicochemical parameters in Romanian Carpathian show caves was conducted; the study established basic principles and issued preventive measures and instructions for cave personnel and stakeholders.