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Thematic Lines
TL8 - Geoheritage and Geoconservation |
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| History |
Coordinator: José Brilha The research plan for this TL is based on the following four successive tasks, having as background the national inventory of geosites:
Presently, a geosites inventory must include their quantitative assessment. The importance of a quantitative assessment is related with the need to decrease the subjectivity of a personal evaluation. The establishment of objective criteria may help to reduce the subjectivity factors and to justify the presence of a certain geosite in the inventory. Furthermore, having a sorted list of geosites based on their scientific relevance is also very important to define priorities in a geoconservation strategy (the more important is a geosite the sooner it should be protected). Representativeness, rarity, possible use as a model to illustrate geological processes, diversity of geological elements, integrity, and association with diverse geological elements are some of the most used criteria to assess the scientific value of geosites. During this task, it is expected to define other criteria to help this assessment. It will be stressed the interference between the type of geological element and the area of the outcrop (scale factor).
Some geosites are located in well-known areas with numerous scientific works already published. But there is a reasonable number of geosites where there is no detailed geological mapping. Therefore, it is required to develop this geological mapping using an adequate scale in order to characterise correctly the scientific value of the geosite. Furthermore, this mapping is also considered as an important tool for management purposes. For geosites with geomorphological value, a geomorphological mapping will be produced. The scale of these mappings is dependent on the type and diversity of the geological elements responsible for the scientific value of the geosite. For instance, for small outcrops, a 1:5000 scale might be suitable whereas for large landforms a 1:25000 scale could be the most acceptable one.
In spite of all geosites of the inventory have been identified accordingly with their scientific potential, there are some issues to be solved taking into account their management needs. Therefore, for each geosite, it is necessary to clearly define: i) Which geological elements are responsible for the scientific value of the geosite? ii) Are there more than one geological element present in the geosite? Which one is more important? iii) What is the desirable state of conservation of these elements? iv) Where are the physical borders of the geosite? v) Are there any threats affecting the geosite? vi) Is it necessary to define a buffer zone? vii) What type of activities can be allowed to do inside the geosite area and inside its buffer zone? All these data will be collected using an e-form specially develop for this task. The physical boundaries of each geosite will be traced using a high-precision GPS.
All data collected in the field will be stored in a GIS database. This database is an output that can be used and adapted by other countries in the future. The database will also be prepared to receive and compute information concerning geosites monitoring. Most often, managers overlook the monitoring of geosites leading to negative impacts on the relevance of the geosite. This is the reason why this kind of information tool is very helpful to follow the conservation status of the geosite over time.
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