Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Geoconservation in the Carpathian Area: Special Issue Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Geoconservation in the Carpathian Area: Special Issue 10.30486/gcr.2020.1913822.1058 EN Michael J. Benton School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TQ, United Kingdom 0000-0002-4323-1824 Karoly Nemeth School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, Turitea Campus, Palmerston North, New Zealand 0000-0003-1026-0407 Slobodan Markovic Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia 0000-0002-4977-634X Djordjije Vasiljevic Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia 0000-0002-1225-4409 Journal Article 2024 01 13

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) From Scientific Research to Geoconservation and Geopark Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 From Scientific Research to Geoconservation and Geopark 10.30486/gcr.2020.1904008.1025 EN Dan Alexandru Grigorescu Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Bucharest, 2A Mareșal Constantin Prezan Blvd., Romania 0000-0002-4811-9698 Journal Article 2024 01 13 The Haţeg region of Transylvania-Romania, known as the “Haţeg Country”, due to its specific character as a region wholly encircled by mountains, has been renowned for over a century for its palaeontological geosites from which dinosaur bones of several species, dinosaur eggs and hatchlings, were unearthed along with numerous other taxa representative of all the major vertebrate groups: fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The region illustrates the phenomenon of “insular dwarfism”, linked to the lengthy persistence of animals in isolated habitats. Palaeontological research in the region took place across two periods, separated by a 50-year gap in which no systematic studies were carried out. The first, closely associated with Franz Nopcsa, spanned between 1897 and 1929; the second period, begun in 1977, continues to this day. The main achievements of these two periods are briefly presented. After 1990, the region also became a centre for geoconservation, incorporating a complex activity of research, protection and valorisation of existing dinosaur sites, under the tutelage of geologists from the University of Bucharest. These efforts led to UNESCO recognizing the region as the “Haţeg Country Dinosaurs Geopark” in 2005. Afterwards, it became a leading centre for geoeducation and geotourism in Romania. Here, we discuss the roles played in this achievement by enduring scientific research in the fields of geology and palaeontology across the region, the efforts for the geoconservation of the fossiliferous sites and not least local authorities’ involvement and cooperation.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Geoheritage Values of the Northeastern Carpathians, Transcarpathia, Ukraine Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Geoheritage Values of the Northeastern Carpathians, Transcarpathia, Ukraine 10.30486/gcr.2020.1904340.1026 EN Sandor Gonczy Department of Geography and Tourism, Ferenc Rakóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Berehove, Transcarpathia, Ukraine 0000-0003-0350-0484 Gyula Fodor Department of Geography and Tourism, Ferenc Rakóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Berehove, Transcarpathia, Ukraine 0000-0002-9971-8068 Natalia Olah Department of Geography and Tourism, Ferenc Rakóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Berehove, Transcarpathia, Ukraine 0000-0001-8748-7832 Tibor Nagy Department of Geography and Tourism, Ferenc Rakóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, Berehove, Transcarpathia, Ukraine 0000-0002-3552-1995 Zsuzsanna2 Ésik Department of Mineralogy and Geology, Debrecen, University of Debrecen, Hungary Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary 0000-0002-3552-1995 János Szepesi Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary MTA–ELTE Volcanology Research Group Budapest, Hungary Journal Article 2024 01 13 Transcarpathia politically is the westernmost county of Ukraine but geographically is the north–eastern part of the Carpathian–Pannonian Region. The aim of our present work is to provide a brief overview and greater publicity about the geoheritage values of Transcarpathia using 45 documented geosites (stratigraphic, volcanic, geomorphological, mineralogical, tectonic) of the Ukrainian State Geological Survey. Four objects are located in national parks or nature reserves. The other 41 sites are only recommended for protection. The applied classification scheme included thematic (primary and additional interest) and functional categories (e.g. natural outcrops, quarries). The preliminary qualitative site assessment involved the determination of integrity, geological diversity, use limitations, current observation conditions, vulnerability, safety, association with other values parameters. This review is a good methodological starting point for expanding the database and emphasizing the importance of the abiotic nature. Conserving geodiversity requires protection for nationally or regionally important objects what includes active management of sites.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Conservation of Geomorpological Heritage in the Homolje Area (Eastern SERBIA) – Current State and Perspectives Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Conservation of Geomorpological Heritage in the Homolje Area (Eastern SERBIA) – Current State and Perspectives 10.30486/gcr.2020.1903646.1024 EN Đurđa Miljković Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia 0000-0001-9243-9691 Ljupče Miljković Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, Univeristy of Novi Sad, Serbia Mlađen Jovanović Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, Univeristy of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia Journal Article 2024 01 13 Homolje is one of the most developed geomorphological areas in Eastern Serbia. Shallow karsts prevail across this region with cover vegetation and soil, with developed surfaces, and underground karst landforms. This type of terrain leads to the occurrence of different geomorphological landforms that stand out from the rest, primarily for their scientific, aesthetic and ecological value, uses, and tourism potential. Gorges can be singled out as the largest geosites, then uvalas, caves, karst bridges, and tufa accumulations. Two are on the National list of geoheritage of Serbia as protected natural monuments. As geoheritage protects only authentic and representative landforms, the main task of this paper is to point out the most significant measures to improve the unsatisfactory current state of geomorphosites of the Homolje area and possible solutions for their conservation, adequate use and better tourism promotion. This paper presents a review of geomorphological heritage in this region of Serbia with a focus on its conservation.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Karst-Based Geotourism in Eastern Carphatian Serbia: Exploration and Evaluation of Natural Stone Bridges Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Karst-Based Geotourism in Eastern Carphatian Serbia: Exploration and Evaluation of Natural Stone Bridges 10.30486/gcr.2020.1903486.1023 EN Aleksandar Antić Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Nemanja Tomić Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Slobodan Markovic Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Serbia 0000-0002-4977-634X Journal Article 2024 01 13 The region of Carpathian Serbia is much dominated by karst terrain with numerous geological and geomorphological features, especially caves and natural stone bridges, potentially significant for geotourism development. The geotourism potential of these sites is still largely untapped. In this paper, we analyze several natural stone bridges that possess geotourism potential. These sites include Velika Vratna, Mala Vratna, Suva Vratna, Samar, Valja, Osanica and Rajska stone bridge. This study aims to identify and evaluate the current state and geotourism potential of natural stone bridges as important resources for the development of karst geotourism in Carpathian Serbia by applying the Modified Geosite Assessment Model (M-GAM). The results indicate that the Vratna River basin currently has the best-rated Main Values, but it comes short for Additional Values, especially tourism infrastructure meaning that this should be the primary focus of any future geotourism development of this site. On the other hand, Valja stone bridge has the highest Additional Values but still with plenty of room for improvement. The paper also indicates the importance of other karst features in the vicinity and their role in completing the geotourism offer of this area.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Promoting Geoheritage Through a Field Based Geo-education Event, a Case Study of the Hungarian Geotope Day in the Bükk Region Geopark Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Promoting Geoheritage Through a Field Based Geo-education Event, a Case Study of the Hungarian Geotope Day in the Bükk Region Geopark 10.30486/gcr.2020.1906171.1029 EN László Sütő Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Eszterházy Károly University, Eger, Hungary 0000-0002-5557-0188 Zsuzsanna2 Ésik Department of Mineralogy and Geology, Debrecen, University of Debrecen, Hungary Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary 0000-0002-3552-1995 Roland Nagy Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Eszterházy Károly University, Eger, Hungary 0000-0002-5514-9035 Erika Homoki Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Eszterházy Károly University, Eger, Hungary 0000-0003-1131-944X János Szepesi Isotope Climatology and Environmental Research Centre (ICER), Institute for Nuclear Research, Debrecen, Hungary MTA–ELTE Volcanology Research Group Budapest, Hungary Journal Article 2024 01 13 Within the integrated network of protected geosites in nature conservation areas, nature trails have been established in Hungary since 1990. These trails play a major role in the organization of field-based geo-education activities. The Hungarian Geotope Day was established in the study area in 2009, based on the model of the German Geotope Day (Cserépfalu village, Bükk Region Geopark) where spectacular geological and geomorphological sites are included along the Devil's Tower Nature Trail. Field-based activities were organized through geology-themed hiking (“geohiking”) to expose geodiversity to the public. The number of the geotourists reached 1000 persons last year, but there was no detailed investigation about their motivation and segmentation. This preliminary work tries to explore the attitudes of the hiking geotourists with a questionnaire. The survey was conducted between 2016 and 2019. Questions ranged from basic social data through tourism motivation and some further development-related questions. Now, Geotope Day is nationwide and the number of locations exceeds 20 geosites. These results represent an important source of information for planning these outdoor educational activities.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Geoheritage Values of the Wairarapa “Mudstone Country”, North Island, New Zealand Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Geoheritage Values of the Wairarapa “Mudstone Country”, North Island, New Zealand 10.30486/gcr.2020.677854 EN Julie Palmer School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, New Zealand Karoly Nemeth School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, New Zealand 0000-0003-1026-0407 Alan Palmer School of Agriculture and Environment, Massey University, New Zealand Szabolcs Kosik Horizon Regional Council, New Zealand Journal Article 2024 01 13 The Manawatu and Wairarapa regions, lower North Island, are an important geological archive for New Zealand but are not among the iconic geotourism attractions of New Zealand. Recently the geoheritage values of the region have been discussed by various groups including Massey University and Horizons Regional Council with an aim to promote the region to visitors seeking destinations with geological significance. The suggestion has been made the Manawatu River form the backbone of a geopark. While Manawatu River is regionally significant, we argue it lacks the unique attributes needed for globally significant geoheritage value. Here we demonstrate the wider region has at least two globally unique and geologically superb features that should be evaluated using global comparative studies. Exceptional turbidite successions representing accretionary prism successions are exposed in the Wairarapa region. These are comparable to the iconic “flysch” locations of the North American Cordillera, the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Carpathians. Furthermore, a succession of thrust faults and related mélange sequences are among the best exposed and most accessible in New Zealand. These undoubtedly carry high geoheritage value and we propose that these two geological features, with community support, regional council funding and the local university (Massey) facilitating the transfer of knowledge to the community, should be signposted and promoted to visitors. In the long term the stunning geological succession of the Wairarapa Mudstone Country should gain international recognition and form the basis of a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) The Reversely Zoned Castelo Branco Pluton at the New “Barrocal” City Park (Central Iberian Zone, Portugal) Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 The Reversely Zoned Castelo Branco Pluton at the New “Barrocal” City Park (Central Iberian Zone, Portugal) 10.30486/gcr.2020.1911839.1036 EN Isabel Margarida N Antunes ICT, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710 - 057 Braga, Portugal 0000-0003-3456-5926 Carlos Neto De Carvalho Instituto Dom Luiz, Departamento de Geologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal Geopark Naturtejo Meseta Meridional. Centro Cultural Raiano. Avenida Joaquim Morão, 6060-101, Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal 0000-0002-3365-6626 Mohamed Abioui2 Geology Department, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco “Monachus” Group of Scientific Research and Ecological Education, Constanta, Romania Journal Article 2024 01 13 The "Barrocal" city Park of Castelo Branco is an urban park developed to protect the geoheritage of the tardi-Variscan granite landscapes of the only city existing in the area of the Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark. The "Barrocal" Granite is part of a Late Carboniferous unusual reversely zone intrusion with a granodiorite core and different granites in the rim. The weathering processes developed many textbook examples of granite landforms that are now accessible and available for appreciation by the local community and tourists in a 40 ha park, the newly geotourist attraction of the Geopark.

Geoconservation Research (Geoconserv. Res.) Cave Geomechanical Index (CGI). Classification and Contribution to the Conservation of Natural Caves in the Iron Mines Volume 3 (2020) Issue 2, November 2020 2024 01 13 Cave Geomechanical Index (CGI). Classification and Contribution to the Conservation of Natural Caves in the Iron Mines 10.30486/gcr.2021.1908888.1033 EN Iuri Viana Brandi Vale S.A., Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Marcelo Barbosa Vale S.A., Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Airton Barata Vale S.A., Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Rafael De Paula Vale S.A., Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Tomas Correa Vale S.A., Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Hernani Lima Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Departamento de Engenharia de Minas, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil Robert Osborne Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Journal Article 2024 01 13 Cave geotechnical studies have been the key to meeting the requirements of Brazilian environmental legislation for the conservation of speleological heritage in mining areas. This paper presents a methodology that classifies iron caves according to their susceptibility to structural instability called the Cave Geomechanical Index (CGI). This index combines four variables: (1) Rock Mass Rating (RMR), Bieniawski’ s geomechanical variable, which classifies the quality of the rock mass hosting the cave; (2) Hydraulic Radius (HR), an engineering variable that allows the dimension of the span to be evaluated; (3) Ceiling Shape (CS), a speleological variable that indicates whether the ceiling geometry of the cave spans is favorable or unfavorable for block formation, and (4) Ceiling Thickness (CT), a geotechnical variable that represents the depth between the ceiling of the cave and the surface of the ground regarding auto-support issues. The CGI was developed, applied and calibrated over four years, by monitoring 63 spans from 27 caves adjacent to active iron ore mines in Carajás, Pará state, Brazil, that had been authorized to be eliminated. This geomechanical classification system proved to be easy to implement and its results showed that 76% of the spans with breakdown occurrences in the caves were classified as high or very high susceptibility to structural instability, while 94% of the spans classified as low susceptibility did not show any signs of physical damage. The CGI is discussed with the focus on improving stability studies, predictability of cave breakdown mechanisms and geotechnical risk analysis of iron caves near mining operations.