Abstract
Limestones have been worked for many thousands of years — initially for building stone and agricultural lime and more recently for a wide range of construction and industrial uses. In most industrialized countries limestone quarries represent the most visually obvious and, in both process and landform terms, the most dramatic anthropogenic impact on karst terrain. However, quarrying has, to date, received surprisingly little attention from karst scientists. Research in the English Peak District suggested that the postexcavation evolution of quarried limestone rock faces was in part a result of the methods used in their excavation, and this led to the development of a technique designed to reduce the visual and environmental impacts of modern quarries by “Landform replication. ” This involves the use of controlled “restoration blasting” techniques on quarried rock slopes to construct a landform sequence similar to that in the surrounding natural landscape. The constructed landforms are then partially revegetated using appropriate wildflower, grass, and/or tree species.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bailey D, Gunn J (1991) Landform replication as an approach to the reclamation of limestone quarries. In: Davies MCR (Ed), Land reclamation — an end to dereliction. Amsterdam: Elsevier. pp 96–105
Gagen PJ, Gunn J (1987) Restoration blasting in limestone quarries. Explos Eng 1:14–15
Gagen PJ, Gunn J (1988) A geomorphological approach to limestone quarry restoration. In: Hooke JM (Ed), Geomorphology in environmental planning. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp 121–142
Gunn J, Gagen PJ (1987) Limestone quarrying and sinkhole development in the English Peak District. In: Beck BF, Wilson WL (Eds), Karst hydrogeology: Engineering and environmental applications, Rotterdam: Balkema. pp 121–126
Gunn J, Gagen, PJ (1989) Limestone quarrying as an agency of landform change, In: Gillieson D, Smith DI (Eds), Resource management in limestone landscapes: International perspectives. Special publication No. 2, Department of Geography and Oceanography, University College, Canberra. pp 173–181
Stanton WS (1990) Hard limestone: Too valuable to quarry. Miner Plan 43:3–9
Wigglesworth P (1990) Limestone quarrying and nature conservation. MSc thesis. CNAA, Manchester Polytechnic
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gunn, J., Bailey, D. Limestone quarrying and quarry reclamation in Britain. Geo 21, 167–172 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00775301
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00775301