Quantitative assessment of geosites with national and international relevance in Portugal: methodological procedures

Abstract

During the last years geoscientists of various institutions have developed a project aiming the establishment of a geoconservation strategy in Portugal. One of the main goals of this project was the inventory of the most important Portuguese the definition of the frameworks representing the most important geological features in Portugal and considering all geodiversity. With the participation of more than seventy geoscientists, twenty-seven geological frameworks were defined according to their scientific value at both national and international levels. The scientific value together with the vulnerability was numerically assessed in order to obtain a sorted list of all geosites with scientific value. The first step geosites. The Portuguese geosites inventory will be used in nature conservation policies and land-use strategies in different levels of country's administration.