Geomorphological Heritage of Cretaceous Sandstone Terrains in SW Poland: Diversity, Conservation and Interpretation Issues

The Sudetes mountain range in SW Poland include several areas, where distinctive topography has developed upon layered sedimentary successions of Cretaceous age, with quartz sandstones supporting the most spectacular landforms. They are most diverse in the Stołowe Mountains, which are a good example of a tableland with plateau levels, escarpments and mesas. Extensive ruiniform relief, rock labyrinths and clusters of pedestal rocks are the highlights of the area and the main reason why the area is protected as a national park. Sandstone landform inventories in other parts of the Sudetes include cuesta ridges, crags, block fields and non-karstic caves, most of them not subjected to any legal form of conservation. Threats to the integrity of sandstone geomorphological heritage are mainly related to tourism, which is clearly over-developed in the most popular parts of the Stołowe Mountains National Park. Negative impact of climbing was considerably reduced after this type of outdoor activity was prohibited in most of the Park territory. Proper geo-interpretation of sandstone geomorphology is challenging, given that dense vegetation hampers landform recognition and appreciation, whereas the most important formative processes, such as subterranean erosion, are slow-going, invisible and, hence, difficult to explain in succinct way, as expected from geo-interpretation aimed at casual visitors. Uncontrolled growth of vegetation interferes with the visibility of many sandstone landforms, and it is argued that regular vegetation clearance is a necessary conservation measure at many geosites.