New Approaches for Geoheritage Management and Geo-Conservation

Dear Colleagues,

The proper management of geological heritage is a basic aspect of the preservation of the geological peculiarities which occur on the Earth’s surface. Far-sighted management guarantees the protection of key geological outcrops, which are essential for knowledge of the geological history of our planet (Wimbledon, 1996). It also allows for the transfer of geological knowledge to future generations. It has been known, for decades now, that geological heritage constitutes an irreplaceable natural resource, and therefore any effort must be made in order to avoid its loss. The preservation of geological heritage necessarily implies the use and implementation of all of the most recent geo-conservation techniques. The sustainable management of geological heritage must be addressed following a multidisciplinary approach which includes, in the first instance, geological and geo-conservation aspects, but also economic and territorial administration management.

Often, it happens that areas characterized by a high presence of geosites, with an elevated economic potential, lack the necessary skills needed to manage it. Therefore, it becomes necessary to train professional figures capable of dealing with problems related to the management and geo-conservation of the geological heritage of a given territory.

This Special Issue aims to collect contributions that take into consideration the geological aspects of geosites, also highlighting the possible issues arising from geo-conservation procedures and the sustainable management of geological heritage. Therefore, we invite you to submit papers that address wide-ranging topics, new case studies, and scientific articles to this Special Issue. Furthermore, it would be preferable to submit papers addressing specific and exemplary situations focused on the management of geological heritage from an economic, social, and cultural point of view.

In recent decades, most researchers have dedicated themselves to the study of numerous sites of geological interest, creating a basic knowledge from which to start planning adequate geo-conservation actions to be followed by actions for the valorization and management of the sites.

Examples of content include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Geoheritage: protection, geo-conservation, enhancement, and touristic fruition;
2. Perception of the geological heritage by the people who live in the places;
3. Geological heritage education;
4. New ICT technologies for geoheritage;
5. Relationship of geoheritage with urban areas;
6. (New) Methods for assessing geoheritage (qualitative and quantitative);
7. Cultural function of geodiversity;
8. Geomatics and GIS for geodiversity inventory;
9. Large-scale study using remote sensing;
10. Use of augmented reality to better represent the peculiarities of geosites.

Dr. Mario Bentivenga
Dr. Giuseppe Palladino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Heritage is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• geoheritage
• geo-conservation
• geodiversity
• GIS
• remote sensing
• geosites