This paper presents a preliminary geosite physical assessment model which has the potential to assist in the sustainable planning and management of natural heritage locations and their transformation into tourism destination. The methodology is based on several existing models and presented through two groups of values – main and additional, which are further divided into indicators and subindicators respectively. The resultant model is a graph that consists of nine fields, into which geosites can be classified as fitting into nine general areas of suitability for tourism in terms of their main (scientific/educational, aesthetic/scenic and protection as market appeal and conservation) and additional values (functional and tourism use as current stage of development). This could prove to be of great help to natural heritage protection and tourism managers, as they could assess the current state of a geosite and thence propose a future path for it.
Loess deposits in the Vojvodina region, northern Serbia, are among the oldest and most complete loess-paleosol sequences in Europe to date. These thick sequences contain a detailed paleoclimatic record from the late Early Pleistocene. Based on the correlation of detailed magnetic susceptibility (MS) records from Vojvodina with the Chinese loess record and deep-sea isotope stratigraphy we here reconfirm and expand on a stratigraphic model of the Vojvodinian loess-paleosol chronostratigraphic sequence following the Chinese loess stratigraphic system.Variations in MS, dust accumulation rates, and the intensity of pedogenesis demonstrate evidence for a Middle Pleistocene climatic and environmental transition. The onset of loess deposition in Vojvodina also indicates a direct link between dust generation in Europe and that in the interior of Eurasia since the Early Pleistocene. The youngest part of the Early Pleistocene and oldest part of the Middle Pleistocene is characterised by relatively uniform dust accumulation and soil formation rates as well as relatively high magnetic susceptibility values. In contrast, the last five interglacial-glacial cycles are characterised by sharp environmental differences between high dust accumulation rates during the glacials and low rates observed during soil development. The data presented in this study demonstrate the great potential of Vovjodina's loess archives for accurate reconstruction of continental Eurasian Pleistocene climatic and environmental evolution.
Karst areas, as areas with attractive geological and geomorphological features are an important and integral part of geoheritage. They possess huge tourism potential and can be used for the development of geotourism. The Pek River basin is a highly dominant karst terrain with numerous geological and geomorphological features, especially caves. However, their geotourism potential still remains fully unrevealed. In this paper, we analyzed several geosites that represent significant karst geoheritage formations and as such they can be the backbone of future geotourism development in this area. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the geotourism potential of the Pek River lower basin and to determine the current state and geotourism potential of these geosites by applying the modified geosite assessment model (M-GAM).