Milena Różycka

Customer-Oriented Evaluation of Geoheritage—on the Example of Volcanic Geosites in the West Sudetes, SW Poland

Thirty geosites representing ancient volcanism in the West Sudetes are subject to quantitative, multi-variant evaluation that takes into account the geoscientific background and likely preferences of visitors. To account for the diversity of visitors, different weightings of criteria included in the evaluation procedures are applied. Four rankings were prepared: a ‘non-weighted’ one and three ‘customer-oriented’. Differences between rankings are relatively small, although notable individual exceptions are noted. Top positions in different rankings are invariably occupied by the same group of geosites which are highlights of the region, although apparently for different purposes. However, scientific, educational, additional and scenic values may be causally related. Some geosites are of outstanding significance for the geoscientific community but appear less appealing to others, particularly unaware visitors. The results of the exercise may assist in resource allocation for developing interpretative facilities and diversifying the level of interpretation between geosites.

Conservation and Geotourism Perspectives at Granite Geoheritage Sites of Waldviertel, Austria

The region of Waldviertel in Lower Austria is dominated by crystalline basement rocks of the Bohemian Massif, including granites of both Late Proterozoic and Carboniferous ages. Although the general relief is subdued, it is punctuated by numerous granite outcrops in the form of tors and boulders. Both are highly valuable elements of regional heritage. Tors occur in a variety of shapes and sizes, hosting also a range of microforms such as weathering pits, rillenkarren and flared slopes. Some tor and boulder groups are elements of exhumed pre-Miocene landscapes. Four case studies are presented, illustrating different approaches to geosite management. Most sites are properly looked after, although motivations are not necessarily based on a realization of their scientific value, but there is deficit of on-site interpretation. A thematic ‘Granite Route’ should be a feasible project, revealing a regional granite geomorphological heritage, outstanding within the Bohemian Massif, to wider public.

Evolution of sandstone mesas – following landform decay until death

Mesas are residual landforms typical for layered rock sequences, formed due to tableland dissection and cliff retreat. Caprock cliffs are characteristic elements of mesa morphology. Mesas have finite lifetimes and over time are reduced in area, transforming into buttes and eventually into irregular arrays of boulders. Thus, they are ‘born’, when separated from a plateau, and ‘die’, when the caprock completely disintegrates. In this paper, sequential development of sandstone-capped mesas is first inferred from theory and then verified on the basis of field observations and landform inventories from a sandstone tableland of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in the eastern part of Germany. Finally, selected morphometric parameters of mesa morphology, potentially indicative of their evolutionary phases, are computed from a high-resolution digital terrain model. Both field evidence and results of morphometric analysis indicate that mesas evolve along various pathways and, tending towards specific end-members, illustrate the principle of equifinality. Space-for-time substitution, if applied with care, may also be helpful in deciphering the geomorphic history of mesas and tracing their life until disappearance.