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Academician Josip Roglić and his role in the studies of karst

At the beginning of the paper, along with significant biographical information about academician Roglić, the authors emphasis the fact that Roglić has received the first scientific knowledge about karst at Grammar school in Split (from professor Rubić), and gained more detailed information during his university studies in geography in Belgrade, the city which was at the time, due to J. Cvijić well-known for the research of karst. The second part of the paper stresses the more significant Roglić's approaches in karst research. Roglić saw and interpreted karst territory as a complex and living area limited by water shortages and lack of arable land so it is understandable that in his studies and interpretations of karst he applied interdisciplinary approach using research results of related scientific fields. Roglić stressed that all geographical processes are complex, that they constantly change in time and space and that in their examination and explanation, the principles of complex geography should be applied. In his studies of karst and landscape, Roglić used contemporary relations and active processes as a starting point, and ventured into the reconstruction of its evolution only as much as reliable data enabled it. Roglić always considered field work and observation to be the basis of geographical research. The third part of the paper stresses immediate Roglić’s merits for the karst research which has gained him worldwide respectability and recognition that are seen in numerous quotations in geomorphologic literature all over the world. Among his immediate results the most stressed ones are the explanations of: the conditions and forms of karstification, formation and meaning of the polje and plateau in karst, water circulation in karst, relation between river erosion and karst processes, relation between sea level and water circulation in the karst, the effect of climate and geomorphologic processes on fluvial, glacial, periglacial, as well as marine and anthropogenic modeling of the relief. This part also stresses Roglić’s great merits for the development of speleology in Croatia (since 1957-1962 Roglić was the president of Speleological Society of Croatia, today the Croatian Speleological Federation). Studying Red Lake, Roglić descended to the lake’s surface to measure the depth, the width and other parameters, based on which he created the basic cross section of the outer part of the lake’s depression. Taking into consideration the venue of this conference, the authors have specially pointed out the significance of Roglić’s work: The Una and the Korana plateau, Plitvice lakes, Geomorphologic observations (1951), and Morphological particularities of the Plitvice lakes National park (1974) in which he warns that Plitvice lakes - “jewel of our karst”, a geomorphologic peculiarity - are the lakes on a permeable karst and stresses the importance of the uneven structure, i.e. the transition between dolomite and limestone and formation of the travertine forms. In the fourth part of the paper the authors stress the major indirect contributions of the academician Roglić in the karst research, such as: managing the Institute of Geography, first at the Faculty of Philosophy, then at the Faculty of Science in Zagreb, which was at the time considered the best equipped institution of this kind in the country and was one of the centers of karst research in Croatia. With the same success in academic year 1947/48 Roglić ran the Faculty of Science as its dean, as can be seen in the quote by academician M. Herak: Although a geographer by vocation, he advocated the belonging of geography to geosciences and natural science on the whole, fighting for their integrity. It is because of this conviction that Roglić as a dean of Faculty of Science managed in preserving their integrity, opposing the separation of geology and its relocation to another scientific centre. Roglić’s book Contribution to Croatian karst terminology is particularly important for karst science and in it, among other things, the author points out the astonishing wealth of our karst terminology which he considered to be the evidence of the huge importance of karst relief in the life of one part of our country. That book has contributed to the moderation of terminological misunderstandings, among which is the one about the terms krš and kras. Roglić points out that the term krš includes all the particularities of the karst regardless the place where they were developed. Breaking (Croatian: kršenje) of the rocks was the first step in the creation of the karst which is why the term also has a genetic justification - a genetic criterion. Roglić wholeheartedly intervened for the establishment of the Institute for Karst Research, where all the interested sciences would cooperate. He claimed that the Committee for Karst Research, a section of The Department for Natural Science and the Council for Karst Research, a subsection of the chairmanship of the Academy cannot make up for an Institute. As a renowned member of the International geographic union and its bodies (The Committee for Karst Problems, The Committee for the Curriculum and Geography Teaching Methods), Roglić, as a lecturer, a leader of the national delegation or the chairman of individual sections, participated in numerous scientific meetings and was a member of the editorial staff of joint publications The world-renowned respectability of academician Roglić is further confirmed by the fact that he is the author of the paper about the historical development of karst research in the world-renowned and significant publication: Historical review of morphologic concepts. In: Karst: Important Karst Regions of the Northern Hemisphere, edited by M. Herak & V.T. Stringfield, Amsterdam and New York, Elsevier [Chapter 1, 1-18] 1972. Roglić dedicated a great deal of attention to the preservation and enrichment of the environment in the karst areas, as can be seen in his work: Geographical aspect of the degradation of the environment, (1973), and Diversity, specificity and valorization of the coastal karst (1976.) as well as others in which he warned about the indivisibility of contemporary global society, but he stressed that at the same time it requires mutual respect and harmonization of everyone’s interests.

Josip Roglić; karst investigations

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