Why is geodiversity important?
Geodiversity is all around us. It provides the raw materials for building, the fuel we put in our cars and the soils in which our crops grow. It also produces the spectacular landscapes we visit on holiday and the countryside we see every day.
Great Britain was the birthplace of the science of geology. Many divisions of geological time, rock types and concepts were named after rocks and sites in England. For example, rock units across the world may belong to the Wenlock, Ludlow or Devonian periods of geological time.
Many geodiversity sites are used for outdoor education: they provide a chance to study ancient volcanoes, environmental change through time, and collect and record fossils or minerals.
Economic growth
Geodiversity provides many of the essential natural resources that society and economic growth depend, including the:
- soils in which we grow our food and timber
- aggregates from which we build our houses, schools and hospitals
- metals and fuels that supply our economic growth
- filtering, purification and storage systems for our water supplies.
Landscape and sense of place
Geodiversity plays a major role in defining the landscapes. It is the diversity of England’s geology and natural processes that has produced the wide range of landforms and soil types. These influence land use, the distribution and nature of habitats and the character and location of our cities and towns.
The cultural influence of geodiversity on people is extremely strong. The location of many of our cities is influenced by the distribution of mineral resources, especially coal, and many people feel strong cultural ties with their industrial past.
Building stones give character to many of our cities, towns and villages, for example the red desert sandstones in Chester and the Carboniferous Limestone in Bakewell.
Recreation and tourism
Spectacular geology forms the backdrop to many of our most popular tourist locations such as the Lake District and the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. Geodiversity sites are often of great recreational and tourism value, inspiring people to enjoy or learn about nature.
Ecosystems services
Geodiversity has a crucial role in maintaining a range of environmental services.
The complex relationships between geology, natural processes, landforms, landscape, soils and climate are fundamental to the distribution of habitats and species.
Geodiversity plays a key role in environmental regulation including:
- absorbing pollution
- buffering climate change
- filtering, purifying and storing water.
Climate change
Through studying past environmental and climate changes, and the impacts they had on the environment, it is possible to better understand and plan for future impacts of climate change.
