Exploring the dynamics of geodiversity and land cover diversity in Northern Albania

Geodiversity is expressed as a geographical index. It aims to quantify the diversity of the non-living environment. Like all diversity index it serves complex analyses and comparisons. For example, comparing geodiversity and biodiversity helps to understand the relationship between the living and non-living environment and to protect it in a coordinated way. In this study, we had a similar objective: the relationship between geodiversity and land cover diversity was explored to find out the dynamics between the two indicators.

The study area is in the northern part of Albania, near Shkodra, on an area of about 1800 km², and covers a geographic environment that is diverse in almost all respects: coastal, agricultural, urban, riverside, mid- and high mountain. These make the area remarkable for both its geodiversity and biodiversity, and although the former is not emphasised, the Theth National Park in the area aims to preserve these values.

The study was conducted using open-source GIS tools (QGIS and SAGA) at a medium scale, which also determined the 2x2 km cell size of the grid over the area. For the geodiversity index we used geological, soil, morphometric categories, and paleontological and mineral sites from published sources. For surface coverage, the 100 m cell resolution Copernicus Global Land Cover 2019 data for vegetation were used. Land cover diversity was expressed by the Shannon’s diversity index averaged over each 2x2 km cell. In addition to diversity, we also examined the connectivity of land cover categories and the degree of spatial autocorrelation. The latter was assessed for the 4 km² tiles by the global Moran index.

The results were evaluated separately for low- and medium-altitude (<850 m a.s.l.) tiles and for high-altitude areas. The analysis was performed using Pearson correlation test. Geodiversity and land cover diversity showed a positive correlation in the lower regions, but a negative correlation in the high regions. The relationship between geodiversity and connectivity is marked by a negative correlation in low areas and a positive correlation in mountain areas. Only in low areas was there a very weak negative correlation between Moran index and geodiversity.

Consistent with previous research, our results confirmed that there is a correlation between geodiversity and land cover diversity in certain areas (low and medium altitudes). However, the negative correlation we show in high altitudes is a new result. In other words, in low altitude areas, geo- and land cover diversity go together, while in the mountains, geodiverse areas are not characterized by land cover diversity.

Connectivity plays an important role in ecological studies. Low connectivity areas with high land cover diversity at low altitudes correspond to cultural landscapes (urban, and rural areas mixed with natural habitats), which deserves special attention because of the human factor. When coupled with high geodiversity, these areas also make ideal geotourism destinations.