The Ecological–Geological Systems of Limestone Massifs in the Crimean Mountains

Ecological–geological systems are the main object of research within the framework of ecological geology, which is a new scientific field that studies the ecological functions of the lithosphere. We have described abiotic (lithotope and edaphotope) and biotic (microbiocenosis, phytocenosis, and zoocenosis) components of ecological–geological systems developed on limestone massifs of the Crimean Mountains. It has been demonstrated experimentally that the features of the lithotope are determined by their high porosity and relatively high strength, which allows the use of limestone as a building stone. One characteristic of the edaphotope of limestone massifs is the possibility of developing short-profile soils with a poorly developed humus horizon on slopes, and carbonate chernozems at the base of slopes on limestone debris. It is revealed that the features of the lithotope and edaphotope of limestone massifs determine in whole the characteristics of their phyto- and zoocenoses. The flora is dominated by calciphyte vegetation. Zoocenoses on the surface of limestone massifs are characterized by their relative faunistic diversity, in contrast to faunal assemblages in caves.