Conservation aspects of geothermal vegetation

Abstract

Geothermally active areas provide unique, stressed environments characterized by unusual vegetation assemblages and rare plant species (Fig. 1). Natural vegetation associated with geothermal activity is a rare vegetation type globally. Exploitation of geothermal fluid can result in a lowering of deep system water tables, which in turn can lead to changes in the normal heat flow pattern of the surface systems. This may lead to a redistribution of heat at existing sites with some sites heating-up and some cooling-down with consequent changes in geothermal biota. Therefore, the indigenous ecosystems of geothermal areas possess high conservation and scientific values which may be increasingly threatened by the growing exploitation of geothermal energy.