There is a strong interest in protecting the environment with the aim of its long-term preservation. Sometimes the heritage value of these natural areas is related to their biodiversity as there are restricted ecosystems that depend directly on them. In other cases, a singular geological record might exist, essential for the understanding of certain processes affecting the planet, such as volcanic events or glacial periods.
To achieve the protection and conservation of these areas it is necessary to generate knowledge about the distribution of geological materials and groundwater masses, to study the parameters that dominate the behavior of these systems, and then define those elements that require special protection or attention. In these protected environments, research methods with minimal environmental impact should be used. Therefore, indirect methods, such as geophysical techniques, are reliable and complementary tools with a minimum environmental impact and are therefore useful for researching these unique areas.
The IGME has conducted several geophysical surveys in different protected environments in Spain with the aim of achieving a better understanding, and thus facilitate their preservation and exploitation in a sustainable manner. In this paper, we present a review of some case studies where geophysical methods have been used. In all the cases, electrical resistivity tomography has been the axis of the geophysical research and stands out due to its great effectiveness. The main objective of this communication is to divulge and increase awareness of the important role that these geophysical methods can play in the sustainable study of these unique places.