Scrub Hub: Indiana's karst habitat supports unique ecosystem unseen by most Hoosiers

Corn and soy fields seem to take up vast swaths of Indiana’s land across the state, but Indiana is rich with varying landscapes and habitats.

Some habitats are easy to identify like forests, grasslands and wetlands. Others are less obvious or hidden.

So, for this edition of Scrub Hub, we hope to introduce more Hoosiers to one of the lesser-known natural features of the state by answering: What is Karst habitat?

Underground rock formations create unique features

Karst is a landscape filled with limestone or other similarly soluble rocks underground. Acidic waters erode the underlying rocks over millions of years and leave an underground drainage system that can have disappearing streams, sinkholes, springs and caves.

Matt Selig, president of the Indiana Karst Conservancy , has caved all of his life and says karst habitat offers views most people have never seen before.

“We have over 4,000 reported karst features and several thousand caves,” Selig said. “We’re still finding new caves all the time and there’s still a lot to learn about Indiana’s caves.”

This habitat is provided various federal and state protections because it is vulnerable to contamination as water freely flows through the holes and fissures in the rocks.

These contaminants move quickly underground, Selig said, and caves hold very sensitive ecosystems inside.

“Caves have blind crayfish, blind fish, isopods and other insect living there, and those can be wiped out by chemical spills that can be rapidly transported a relatively long way away quickly,” Selig said.

Karst is well developed in Southern Indiana with caves and valleys common in the habitat. Cave systems allow adventurous Hoosiers to explore places like McCormick’s Creek State Park’s Wolf Cave (which is currently closed) and visit a number of deep sinkholes.

Indy wildlife: State and city parks offer wild views

As surface waters seep into the ground, karst landscape creates subtle habitats and microclimates for various species dependent on these unique features.

Rare plants can thrive where calcium-rich nutrients are abundant after rock erosion, and caves provide shelter to salamanders, frogs, bats and diverse populations of microbes.

The Indiana Karst Conservancy is working to raise more awareness of the state’s unique karst landscapes. Trash and other materials get dumped into sinkholes and pits, leading to pollution seeping into groundwater.

“We recommend people get involved with a local grotto and find others who are enthusiastic about caving,” Selig said. “Learn the basics and go caving with experienced cavers that know what they’re doing and where they are going.”

The group manages properties across the southern part of the state from Bloomington down to Harrison County. It also works to stop residential and commercial development from encroaching and destroying cave systems created on the karst landscape.

Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk

IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Scrub Hub: Indiana's karst habitat supports unique ecosystem unseen by most Hoosiers