Risk assessment on dynamic sites of Earth Sciences interest

Abstract

Recently, numerous approaches to the assessment of sites of Earth Sciences interest have been introduced and the conservation of geoheritage is already seen as highly important.  Although there is still an emphasis on the protection of living nature, geoconservation continuously gets more attention and recognition and it is being incorporated into some local and regional policies. Despite all these efforts, some threats may occur resulting from the multiple uses, land-use changes or human society demands on such sites. Thus, the identification, assessment and management of these threats, risks and conflicts of interest should become an integral part of every geoconservation effort.   For these purposes, a two-level risk assessment has been introduced. The first level of threat assessment is based on the already used criteria within geosite/geomorphosite concept and corresponds to the degradation risk evaluation. The second level is represented by the Risk Assessment Matrix, which is commonly used in regional development or project planning and may be viewed as a useful tool for assessing the threats to geodiversity sites as well. Using both approaches provides a complex view of the threats and allows to propose particular measures that could contribute to the balance of the different demands and more effective geoconservation management.   This study is focused on dynamic sites of Earth Sciences interest, namely abandoned sand, clay or loess pits which possess a high intrinsic value and offer numerous geosystem services. Before the proper assessment of the risks and threats, geosystem services of the abandoned pits are identified and classified proving that these sites are of great geoconservation importance. Based on the geosystem services analysis and risk assessment, geoconservation measures are proposed and sustainable use (including geotourist and geoeducational activities) of these sites is designed.   Keywords: Geoconservation; Dynamic sites; Risk analysis; Degradation risk assessment; Risk assessment matrix