Geotope

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Geotope "Gabbrofelsen" near Rosswein ( Saxon Granulite Mountains ) with information board
Silicified Miocene quartz sands in the Gotthold mine in the Liebenwerdaer Heide , Lower Lusatia
Blautopf karst spring in Blaubeuren , Swabian Alb
Teufelstisch near Hinterweidenthal in the Palatinate Forest , a mushroom rock made of sandstones from the early Triassic
The cold water geyser near Andernach in the Eifel
The Wilhelmsteine ​​near Wallenfels in the Lahn-Dill district

Geotopes ( der or that , from the Greek γῆ gé "earth" and τόπος topos "place") are structures of inanimate nature that provide insights into the history of the earth , including the origin and development of life on earth.

description

Geotopes are extraordinarily diverse. It can be striking, conspicuous rock formations, but also rather inconspicuous, hidden rock outcrops . Such outcrops can be sources of minerals and fossils . You can artificially, i.e. H. created by humans (e.g. quarries), or naturally formed. In addition to the geological information contained in the exposed rock, natural clues often provide information on the recent geological past and surface-forming processes in their region due to their mere presence. These include B. caves or ravines. Other geomorphological elements ( sinkholes , scree slopes) also belong to the geotopes, as well as hydrological phenomena (e.g. springs). The dimensions of geotopes vary in the range from a few meters to several hundred meters.

Those geotopes that have a special geological significance, rarity, peculiarity or aesthetics are considered worthy of protection. For scientific and educational work, for natural and local history as well as for geotourism , they are objects of particular value - so-called geo - archives or windows on the history of the earth . Geotope protection is a subject area of nature protection that deals with the preservation and care of geotopes worthy of protection. Geotopes are often designated as extensive natural monuments . They are therefore under legal protection and are subject to similar protective provisions as nature reserves . In addition, depending on the respective legal basis in the individual federal states, geotopes can also be designated on the basis of the Monument Protection Act or the Soil Protection Act, for example.

A special form of geotourism is the use of protected geotopes as target points for geocaching . These so-called earth caches are used to impart knowledge about geological processes in a playful way.

Day of the geotope

In the year of geosciences 2002, the day of the geotope was held for the first time in Germany on October 6th and has been held every year on the third Sunday in September since then. On the day of action, places of geological importance are presented to the general public , where one can understand the development of the earth and life: geologically outstanding and worth seeing outcrops, landforms, boulders , springs and caves .

The day of action is organized by the GeoTope and GeoParks section of the German Geological Society - Geological Association (DGGV), together with the Hanover Academy of Geosciences (AGH) and the Paleontological Society (PG), in cooperation with the geological services of the federal states; The GeoUnion Alfred Wegener Foundation also supports the promotion of the events. With the help of competent authorities, geoparks , universities, associations and groups, a large number of activities are offered - including excursions, tours to geotopes and visitor mines, inspections of nature trails and museum tours. For several years the program of the day of the geotops has been announced on a subpage of the DGGV website with its own internet address (www.tag-des-geotops.de) (see web links ).

Current

In recent years, numerous geotope inventories have been published in Germany at the state level. Since the approaches to the documentation of the mappings, e.g. B. with regard to geotope classification, traditionally differentiated from federal state to federal state, the departments for geotope protection of the geological state offices developed the working instructions for geotope protection in Germany in 1996 as a methodological basis for creating a nationwide network of the most important geotopes. In 2019 the 2nd edition of the updated and supplemented work instructions for geotope protection in Germany appeared , in which new geotope types were described. The updated instructions have been supplemented by an extensive glossary of geotope types. The contact persons for the designation of geotopes and geotope protection are the state geological services of the individual federal states.

In May 2006, 77 objects in Germany were awarded the title National Geotope as a result of a nationwide competition .

See also

Derdinger Horn, geological window near Oberderdingen, natural monument

Geotopes of the Federal Republic of Germany (selection)

Literature (selection)

  • B. Austria, V. Wrede et al .: Instructions for geotope protection in Germany. Guideline of the state geological services of the federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany , State geological services (Ed.), 2nd supplemented edition, Jena 2018, 136 pp.
  • Th. Wardenbach, V. Schroeder, M. Lücke: Geotope protection in municipal landscape planning using the example of the city of Wuppertal. In: Natur und Landschaft, H. 11, Stuttgart 2009, pp. 496–501.
  • HE. Look, L. Feldmann: Fascination Geology. The most important geotopes in Germany. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung, 2006, ISBN 978-3-510-65219-8 , 179 pp.
  • Th. Wardenbach: Message from the Drachenfels: Geotope protection, the new task in nature and landscape protection. In: G. Altner, B. v. Mettler-Meibom, UE Simonis, EU v. Weizsäcker (Ed.): Jahrbuch Ökologie 2001 , Munich 2000, pp. 264–271.
  • U. Lagally et al .: Report on the results of the “Ad-hoc Working Group on Geotope Protection” of the Federal / State Committee on Soil Research: “Working Instructions for Geotope Protection in Germany”. In: Series of German publications. Geol. Ges , 5, Stuttgart 1997, pp. 43-48
  • Ad-hoc AG Geotope Protection: Working instructions for geotope protection in Germany. Guide of the state geological services of the federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany , Angew. Landscape Ecology, 9: Bonn-Bad Godesberg 1996, 105 pp.
  • FW Wiedenbein: Origin and use of the term 'geotope' in German-speaking countries. In Geological and Landscape Conservation. Ed .: D. O'Halloran, C. Green, M. Harley, J. Knill (Geological Society, London 1994) pp. 117-120.
  • FW Wiedenbein: Geotope protection for Europe. in Geological Heritage 1993. (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen 1993).
  • Alf Grube, W. Wiedenbein (1992): Geotope protection. The geosciences; 10, 8; Pp. 215-219; doi : 10.2312 / geosciences.1992.10.215 .
  • M. Schöttle (1984): Geological natural monuments in the administrative district of Karlsruhe - A compilation of protected and worthy of protection geological objects. Beih. Publ. Nature Conservation Landscape Management Baden-Württemberg 38, pp. 1–171.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Duden Foreign Dictionary, 10th edition 2010 (Duden vol. 5) p. 380
  2. ↑ Ad-hoc-AG Geotope Protection: Working Instructions Geotope Protection in Germany - Guide of the Geological Services of the Lands of the Federal Republic of Germany . Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.), Applied Landscape Ecology, Book 9, Bonn-Bad Godesberg 1996, p. 4
  3. ↑ Ad-hoc-AG Geotope Protection: Working Instructions Geotope Protection in Germany - Guide of the Geological Services of the Lands of the Federal Republic of Germany . Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.), Applied Landscape Ecology, Book 9, Bonn-Bad Godesberg 1996, p. 4
  4. ↑ Annual report 2002 of the State Office for Nature and Environment Schleswig-Holstein (page 172) (PDF; 491 kB)
  5. ↑ Ad-hoc-AG Geotope Protection: Working Instructions Geotope Protection in Germany - Guide of the Geological Services of the Lands of the Federal Republic of Germany . In: Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Applied Landscape Ecology. Issue 9, 1996, p. 6 f.
  6. ↑ B. Oesterreich, V. Wrede et al .: Instructions for geotope protection in Germany. Guide of the State Geological Services of the Lands of the Federal Republic of Germany . Ed .: State Geological Services. 2nd, supplementary edition. Jena 2019, p. 136 .