Aerial algae on the surface of carbonate rocks at the Stone Forest, Shilin County, Yunnan Province, China, and their bioerosion were investigated in the field and studied in the laboratory in detail. Through the observation, identification and statistics of more than one hun- dred algal samples and rock samples with the optical microscopes (stereomicroscope, biological microscope) and the scanning electronic microscope (SEM), the relationships between erosional forms on the surface of the Stone Forest and algae and/or algal communities and the genetic mechanism for the formation of erosional forms were analyzed. It is suggested that aerial algae play an active role in bioerosive processes that may affect the formation of karst erosional forms. These effects include both direct and indirect ones. The direct effect is the initiative control (algal shape-controlling role) of algae on the formation of karst forms of various scales, mostly mi- cro-scale (<10-3m) and minor-scale (10-3-10-1m) erosional forms. The algal shape-controlling roles can be divided into the algal individual shape-controlling role and the algal community shape-controlling role. The former mostly controls the formation of micro-scale erosional forms, while the latter mostly controls the formation of micro-scale and smaller minor-scale erosional forms. The indirect effect refers to the promoting role of algae in the formation of karst forms, which may affect the formation of karst forms of all types and scales. The bioerosion of algae accelerates the weathering process of the whole Stone Forest karst landforms.
TIAN Youping1,3, ZHANG Jie2, SONG Linhua1 & BAO Haosheng2 1. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China 2. Department of Geography, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
