Geoconservation is an important direction in the modern Earth Science. The large academic meeting that occurred in the Ruhr area of Germany in 2010 refl ected the current achievements and challenges of geoconservation. A broad spectrum of relevant ideas discussed at this meeting are now summarized in a large volume addressed below.

The reviewed book consists of two parts, which are comparable in size. The first part (in fact, it is split into two parts entitled Lectures and Poster) is a collection of conference papers. Dozens of authors from many European countries present case examples of local, regional, and national geoconservation initiatives. The contributions about the geological heritage of the Ruhr area and the rest of Germany are numerous. However, some authors address to other countries like Albania, Moçambique, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Turkey. The reviewer, however, is very surprised to find nothing (or for almost nothing) about France, United Kingdom, and many countries outside Europe. Although some authors are not afraid theorizing, the majority of papers looks too practical. Better to say, they are based on case examples of geoconservation activity. In the reviewer’s opinion, this is a serious cavity.

As for its scientific content, this volume has some evident emphases. First, it pays a lot of attention to geoparks, geotourism, popular geological education, and museums. Second, many authors address to the very specific geological heritage related to mining. Third, the reviewer enjoys seeing contributions, which focus on hydrological and hydrogeological objects. Yes, the latters are also potential geosites (RUBAN & KUO 2010). Fourth, the reviewed book facilitates evidently a discussion of perspectives of geoconservation and geotourism in densely populated (including urban) areas. Of course, all above-mentioned topics are very important. Besides others, establishing links between geoconservation and geotourism from one side, and mining and local sustainable socio-economic development from the other side is crucial to mitigate possible conflicts between different stakeholders involved in or affected by geoconservation (RUBAN & KUO 2010). Some papers from the fi rst part of the book should be specially praised. These include the abstract by HORVÁTH & KARANCSI discussing the aesthetic value of landscapes with abandoned mining objects, the extended abstract by SCHMIDT-THOMÉ et al., who review the national geopark initiative realized in Germany, and the abstract by VAN DER ANCKER et al., who stress the importance of talented design and art work for panels installed at geosites in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant. Some papers mention stratigraphically- and palaeontologically-important sites. E.g., FOHLERT & BRAUNER tell about the Cabarz locality, which is famous for Permian insects, vertebrates, and plants, KOCH characterizes briefly Ordovician trilobites from the Ebbe Anticline, and so on. And, of course, all other contributions are not less interesting and important!

The second part of this book (entitled Field trips) offers a detailed description of field excursions in the Ruhr area undertaken during the meeting. It is excellent that the authors do not focus on only geosites and geoparks, but also pay an attention to geology (including economic geology and palaeontology) itself. Moreover, the geological heritage is described in a broad socio-economic context. The reviewer equally enjoyed the chapter written by HISS & MUTTERLOSE, who discuss geosites that are important for investigations of stratigraphy, fossils, sedimentation, and tectonics of the Cretaceous domains, and the chapter written by DE WITT, who emphasizes on the utility of objects like coke oven plant Hansa or workers’ housing estate Eisenheim for the full understanding of interactions between the regional geological and cultural heritage. Finally, lengthy lists of references given at the end of each excursion description will be highly appreciated by the readers. Generally, the geological heritage of the Ruhr area includes 1) both natural outcrops and artificial exposures (roadcuts, quarries etc.), 2) portable objects stored at museums, and 3) cultural, archaeological, industrial, and other objects, which are linked with the geological heritage directly and indirectly. Undoubtedly, the considered region has a great potential to become an outstanding and very special geotourist destination.

The reviewed book is nothing more than a typical conference volume. It is very informative and provides a lot of matter for further thoughts. However, the contributions are placed according to the alphabetical order of their first authors and, thus, the particular topics are mixed in a haphazard way. The papers differ in length, style, and mode of literature citations. Unfortunately, some of them are not prepared properly with regard to their language and style. Many contributions are abstract-like or they are true abstracts. Such a brevity is often very disappointing. Some papers are too descriptive, too declarative, or reflecting too preliminary considerations. The reviewer needs to underline that the descriptions of fi eld excursions, which constitutes the second part of the book, are written much better than the papers given in the first part. But there is one thing, which partly recompenses for the noted deficiencies. The reviewed volume is richly illustrated. Many figures are very accurate and detailed, and the most of them are given in full colour. Of course, they are a kind of worth themselves.

The volume edited by Mügge-Bartolović et al. will be very important for all specialists in geoconservation, mining geology, natural resources policy and law, and, of course, the local geology of the Ruhr area. The practical issues of geological heritage management at geosites and geoparks remain rarely-discussed in professional literature, and, consequently, the present volume is a source of very precious information.

DMITRY A. RUBAN, Rostov am Don

Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie Teil II Jg. 2012 Heft 1/2

Dem Ruhrgebiet wurde für das Jahr 2010 der Titel der Kulturhauptstadt Europas verliehen. In dieser Region ist die sozio-kulturelle und wirtschaftliche Entwicklung besonders eng mit den Bodenschätzen und damit den geologischen Bedingungen verknüpft. Der Nationale Geopark Ruhrgebiet ist gerade deshalb speziell geeignet, der Öffentlichkeit das Thema "Rohstoffland Ruhrgebiet" zu veranschaulichen. In dem Tagungsband werden z.B. Themen wie "Geotope und Rohstoffabbau", "Bergbau-und Industriekultur", "Bodenschätze früher und heute" angesprochen. In Hagen und Umgebung befinden sich zudem zahlreiche herausragende Aufschlüsse und Fossilfundstellen, z.T. sogar von weltweiter Bedeutung, so dass auch das Themenfeld „Paläontologie, Öffentlichkeit und Geotopschutz“ zur Diskussion anstand. Neben den Beiträgen, die regionale Aspekte behandeln, werden, bedingt durch die Zusammenarbeit mit ProGEO, auch eine Vielzahl internationaler Aktivitäten und Belange aufgezeigt. Die Zusammenfassungen der englischsprachigen Beiträge, Vorträge und Poster, sind interessant zu lesen, erschließen sie doch die Vielfalt der Aktivitäten und Ansätze in der Beschäftigung mit dem Thema Geotope auch im internationalen Vergleich.

Die Exkursionsbeschreibungen sind im zweiten Teil des Bandes kompiliert. Es werden Aufschlüsse zwischen Düsseldorf-Wuppertal-Essen-Hagen-Witten-Dortmund-Soest-Iserlohn umfassend dargestellt, so dass sich hier viele lohnende Ziele ergeben, die nur darauf warten entdeckt zu werden.

Dorothee Mertmann (Halle)

der Aufschluss September/Oktober 2012