Geodiversity is the variety of earth materials, forms and processes that constitute and shape the Earth, either the whole or a specific part of it.Zwolinski, Zb. 2004. ''Geodiversity'', in: ''Encyclopedia of Geomorphology'', A.Goudie (ed.), Routledge: pp. 417-418. Relevant materials include

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s, rocks,

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s and

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

. Forms may comprise folds, faults,

landform A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement ...

s and other expressions of morphology or relations between units of earth material. Any natural process that continues to act upon, maintain or modify either material or form (for example

tectonics Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

sediment transport Sediment transport is the movement of solid particles (sediment), typically due to a combination of gravity acting on the sediment, and the movement of the fluid in which the sediment is entrained. Sediment transport occurs in natural systems wh ...

pedogenesis Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order (anisotropy) within soils. These alterations ...

) represents another aspect of geodiversity. However geodiversity is not normally defined to include the likes of landscaping, concrete or other significant human influence.Gray, M. 2004. ''Geodiversity: Valuing and Conserving Abiotic Nature''. John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Overview

Geodiversity is neither homogeneously distributed nor studied across the planet. The identification of geodiversity hotspots (e.g. the islands of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

) may be indicative not simply of the distribution of geodiversity but also of the status of geoconservation initiatives. In this regard, the

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of an ecosystem stems at least in part from its underlying geology. With the majority of biological species remaining undescribed the classification and quantification of geodiversity is not an abstract exercise in geotaxonomy but a necessary part of mature nature conservation efforts, which also requires a geoethical approach. According to Ponciano et al geoheritage may be ''in situ'' (important geosites bearing any exceptional value, such as scientific, cultural, educational, touristic, etc) and ''ex situ'' (minerals, fossils, minerals and rocks that were extracted from their origin site and housed in scientific collections and have notable scientific, cultural, educational, touristic or any other value. These authors also consider any extremely valuable reference to these geodiversity elements as ex situ geoheritage, including therefore field notebooks, papers, photographs, maps, dissertations, books, etc. These references often bear historical and scientific value as, for instance, paleontologist Kenneth Caster's field notebooks which provided informations on unknown fossil localities ). Later (2016), José Brilha argues geodiversity may be of scientific value or valued for other aspects. Geodiversity of scientific value can be either geosites or geoheritage elements that are '' ex situ'' (not encompassing references to these elements such as dissertations, letters and field notebooks as geoheritage). Similarly geodiversity that is of little or no scientific value may be categorized as sites of geodiversity or geodiversity elements that are ''ex situ''. Geodiversity also constitutes an important part of developing nature-based solutions to global environmental challenges and demands for natural resources. For example, a recent study argued that the acute lack of considering geodiversity in international conventions and monitoring frameworks poses a threat to achieving the UN

Sustainable Development Goals The ''2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development'', adopted by all United Nations (UN) members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The aim of these global goals is "peace and prosperity for people and the planet" – wh ...

.Schrodt, F. et al. (2019),
To advance sustainable stewardship, we must document not only biodiversity but geodiversity
. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116, 33, 16155-16158. .

Overview

See also

References

Further reading