From Plateau to Plain—Using Space-for-Time Substitution in Geoheritage Interpretation, Elbsandsteingebirge, Germany

Abstract

The southern part of Elbsandsteingebirge in east Germany represents tableland morphology, with more than a dozen of residual tabular hills-plateaus, mesas and buttes. Their morphological diversity and close proximity to one another create an opportunity to use the ergodic principle (i.e. space-for-time substitution) as a framework for geoheritage interpretation and the development of a thematic geotourist trail. The virtual trail proposed here links eight localities, from the largest and least dissected plateau remnant (Grosser Zschirnstein) to the scatter of allochthonous boulders (Zeisighübel), claiming that they may illustrate the sequential development of erosional landforms in sandstone tablelands. It is argued that ergodic principle is a powerful explanatory tool designed for the general public and more advanced visitors, even though such an approach may not be an accurate reflection of the actual landscape evolution and does not take into account the rates of landform change. The concept is applicable to other localities, and there is usually an option to add further elements (sites) to the existing routes.

Islands in the Caucasian Sea in Three Mesozoic Time Slices: Novel Dimension of Geoheritage and Geotourism

“…The development of geotourist routes is essential in geotourism [83][84][85][86][87][88], and it is especially important when several localities represent the same unique phenomenon and need to be visited in logical order. Earlier, Migo ń et al [89] emphasized the idea of the development of thematic geotourist trails. The development of a geoexcursion route for the discussed thematic geoheritage seems to be an urgent task because such a route can be employed as a basis for local geotourism planning and related geoheritage management.…”

Enigmatic clusters of sandstone boulders on plateaus of the Stołowe Mountains (Sudetes, south-west Poland) – their geoheritage and geotouristic value

“…Thirdly, visitors cannot be directed to other localities in the Stołowe Mountains that would illustrate intermediate phases of relief evolution, as they do not exist. Thus, the space-for-time substitution concept, recently shown to be useful in interpretation of the mesa-dominated sandstone landscape of the Elbsandsteingebirge (Migoń et al, 2019), cannot be adopted. Fourthly, and lastly, the processes implied to occur are slow and not spectacular (as opposed to events such rock falls or landslides), thus with less potential to engage casual visitors whose background in geosciences is usually very limited.…”

The human imprint on the unique geological landscape of the Western Caucasus

“…On the other hand, such a similarity makes geoheoritage interpretation to geotourists more challenging. Interpretation procedures are vital in effective communication of geoheritage-related knowledge to (geo)tourists, as well as to locals and policy-makers (Reynard, 2008;Moreira, 2012;Newsome et al, 2012;Martin, 2014;You et al, 2014;Began et al, 2017;Migoń & Pijet-Migoń, 2017;Modrej et al, 2018;Bruno & Wallace, 2019;Migoń et al, 2019). The majority of these do not have a sufficient command of professional knowledge to a correct understanding of geological features and their origin.…”