Pedological heritage: Valuation and conservation

Regarded as a component of geodiversity, soil is gaining a new dimension of importance and study, by means of building up and enhancing the soil valuation that has been implemented so far, not only by its economic significance, but much more widely as part of the natural heritage. The idea of soil conservation within the concept of geodiversity conservation was originated in the 1990s, almost simultaneously with the appearance of the term pedodiversity. Pedodiversity is represented by a variety of soil types and their distribution, resulting from numerous pedogenetic factors over a long and turbulent geological history. Phenomena and forms of outstanding scientific, educational or cultural significance constitute a pedo-logical heritage. In the conservation of pedodiversity, the main aim is to conserve the diversity of sites, phenomena and processes.