Assessment of karst geomorphosites on Kucaj and Beljanica mountains as a resource for the development of karst-based geopark

Abstract

Protection and promotion of geoheritage has been changing and improving in recent decades, in line with the growing research in this field. Some research papers specifically study geomorphological geoheritage and introduce a special term - geomorphosite. Karst geomorphosites present specific objects of geomorphological heritage. On Kucaj and Beljanica mountains there is the largest karst area in Serbia. The purpose of this paper is to select and evaluate the scientific value of karst geomorphosites of Kucaj and Beljanica. More than one hundred karst geomorphosites were analyzed. In order to achieve more adequate coverage and representation, they were grouped into 25 geomorphotypes in three major geomorphological components of the investigated area. The results of this analysis highlighted the most important natural potentials of this area for establishing a karst-based geopark. More than 20 geomorphotypes have a positive recommendation index, which provides a good basis for further geotourism analysis.