Classification Principles For Karst Stone Forest Landscapes in China

These classification principles include: (1) The principle that aligns with the stone forest definition, which states that only carbonate rock pillar clusters more than 5 m high that look like a forest when viewed from a distance can be called a stone forest. Pillars less than 5 m high are called stone buds. (2) The principle that hinges on tourism applications and focuses on viewing stone forests as a tourism resource. This principle is similar to that of the mining industry and always corresponds to a particular type of application value. For example, the ‘Anshan-type’ iron ore is linked to Archaean strata with striped magnetic quartzite deposits, in which the iron grade is low, but the large scale leads to great potential value for industrial development. This classification method based on industrial development and applications can be adopted for the categorisation of tourism landscapes. (3) The principle that is specifically related to the time of rock formation of the landform....