DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-024-5-0013

Hard and Resistant as a Rock? Threats to Geodiversity and How to Identify and Evaluate Them

Lucie Kubalíková^1,2

¹ Institute of Geonics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Drobného 28, 602 00 Brno, Czechia

² Department of Geology and Soil Science, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 3, 613 00 Brno, Czechia

Geodiversity is defined as the natural range (diversity) of geological (rocks, minerals, fossils), geomorphological (landforms, topography, physical processes), soil and hydrological features, including their assemblages, structures, systems and contribution to landscapes. As a whole, it represents a basis for biodiversity and it offers numerous benefits and services to human society.  Currently, geodiversity is being intensively used and exploited, however, in the last decades, the geoconservation (an action of conserving and enhancing geological, geomorphological, hydrological and soil features and processes, sites and specimens) is continuously being  implemented in regional, national and international nature conservation frameworks and policies. Nevertheless, despite the legislative measures, some threats and risks may still occur and endanger the sites of Earth Science interest. This contribution is focused on the main risks and threats that can endanger geodiversity and geoheritage. It also presents methodological approaches to risk assessment and evaluation of degradation risk which may contribute to the better understanding of the vulnerability and fragility of particular sites of Earth Sciences interest. Practically, the application of these assessment methods can serve as a basis for a more effective management and conservation of geodiversity and geoheritage.

Klíčová slova: geodiversity, geoheritage, risk assessment, geoconservation; environmental education

stránky: 13-23, online: 2025