Naming Conventions in Geomorphology: Contributions and Controversies in the Sandstone Landscape of Zhangjiajie Geopark, China

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS Earth Surf. Process. Landforms 36, 1981–1984 (2011) Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published online 9 September 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/esp.2216

ESEX Commentary Naming conventions in geomorphology: contributions and controversies in the sandstone landscape of Zhangjiajie Geopark, China

Gary Brierley,1* He Qing Huang,2* Anze Chen,3 Simon Aiken,1 Mike Crozier,4 Wolfgang Eder,5 Andrew Goudie,6 Yuanxu Ma,2 Jan-Hendrik May,2 Piotr Migon,7 Gerald Nanson,8 Deli Qi,2 Heather Viles,9 Chris Wood,10 Robert Wray,8 Guifang Yang,11 Xiaoping Yang12 and Guo-an Yu2 1 School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand 2 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China 3 Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, 26 Baiwanzhuang Road, Beijing, 100037, China 4 Victoria University of Wellington, Institute of Geography, School of Earth Sciences, Wellington 6012, New Zealand 5 Department für Geo- und Umweltwissenschaften, Sektion Geologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Muenchen, D-80333, Muenchen, Germany 6 University of Oxford China Centre and St Cross College Oxford, OX1 3LZ, UK 7 Department of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wroclaw, PL-50-137 Wroclaw, Poland 8 School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia 9 School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK 10 School of Applied Sciences, Bournemouth University, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK 11 School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), 29 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China 12 Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Beituchen Western Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100029, China

Received 5 March 2011; Revised 3 July 2011; Accepted 21 July 2011

*Correspondence to: Gary Brierley, School of Environment, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. E-mail: [email protected]; Professor He Qing Huang, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A Datun Road, Chaoyang. E-mail: [email protected]

KEYWORDS: naming conventions; sandstone landscapes; geotourism; Danxia; geomorphology; media

Introduction Although official committees determine naming conventions for species identification or geological time periods, no formal Other than at times of natural disasters, geomorphology is sel- procedures have been established for landscape types. In geo- dom in the public spotlight or the subject of media attention morphology, an inevitable outcome of this local naming pro- (Tooth, 2009). So, why were more than fifty journalists at a media cess is that overlapping or identical features are given names event linked to a Geopark workshop on sandstone landscapes in different languages (e.g. terms such as kamenitza, vasque, and geomorphology held at Zhangjiajie, China in November pia, Opferkessel and gnamma all describe small pans in rock 2010? Growth in the tourism sector in China and other parts of surfaces). However, there are some informal precedents in Asia has prompted efforts to highlight the distinctive attributes which locality names have become more widely used. Karst and scenic splendour of particular landscapes. Sometimes ques- is a global phenomenon with a Slovenian origin. The Meander tions are raised as to whether appropriate scientific guidance is River in Turkey has gained world-wide standing. Other local being used to promote tourism development. For example, there examples include the Turkic origins of yardangs, monadnocks are calls for the distinctive landforms around Zhangjiajie, which named by W.M. Davis after a hill in New Hampshire, coastal received global attention as the ‘floating sky mountains’ of landform types (e.g. Dalmatian Coast), cockpit karst (after the Avatar, to be referred to as the Zhangjiajie landscape type. Jamaican Cockpit Country) or even volcanic eruption styles Hence the media attention at this particular workshop. (e.g. Strombolian). 1982 G. BRIERLEY ET AL.

In recent years, concern for naming conventions of land- which 24 have gained Global Geopark status. Zhangjiajie is forms has been experienced in China, where significant sensi- one of the most prominent of these. tivity surrounds the distinctiveness and naming of sandstone landscapes. Erosional landscapes developed on continental clastic rocks of red colour across the whole of China have long The Zhangjiajie Experience been referred to as Danxia landscape, from a type locality in Danxiashan, Guangdong Province. Recently, the name has Zhangjiajie is located in Hunan Province in the middle of the gained international recognition through awarding World Yangtze River basin (Figure 1). It has a humid, monsoon cli- Heritage Status (WHS) to six representative Danxia localities. mate. It lies between two tectonic zones, the Yunnan- Significant scientific, political and public controversy has Guizhou Plateau to the southwest and Wuling low mountains arisen in relation to the naming of Danxia landforms and selec- to the northwest (Yang et al., 2009). The thickness, age and uni- tion of these ‘type’ localities, with concern that scientific rea- formity of Devonian sandstone beds, along with the density, soning has not been appropriately used to guide tourism angularity and depth of the joint pattern, have been key deter- development. The workshop in November 2010 presented an minants of the morphology and stability of more than 3000 thin opportunity to enhance scientific understanding of the quite and very high vertical sandstone pillars and peaks that cover an 2 different sandstone landscape at Zhangjiajie. This commentary area of 397 km within the Geopark (see Yang et al. 2009, 2010 outlines some of the controversies that may arise in the brand- for more detail). The global significance of this landscape ing of landscapes, highlighting the importance of naming con- reflects the height, narrowness, craggyness, and number/den- ventions in geomorphology. sity of sandstone columns, pillars and peaks (Figure 2). Some blocks extend up to 350 m high, while more than 1000 are higher than 200 m. The Zhangjiajie area has considerable scientific and cultural The Place of Geomorphology within the significance. It hosts several endangered plant and animal spe- Geopark Movement cies. This reflects the distinctive nature of the landscape, the pronounced vertical zonation (i.e. elevation range), and the Geodiversity underpins geoconservation and geological heri- fact that this region lies in a topographic transition zone that tage (Gray, 2004), and implicitly expresses the importance of was not subjected to direct impacts of Quaternary glaciation. Earth history to cultural heritage. Protected areas come in many The landscape was first brought to public attention when a forms and sizes and include National Parks, National Monu- national forest park was set up in the small, remote moun- ments and WHS. Geoparks are a relatively new class of pro- tainous community of Zhangjiajie in 1982. The forest park tected areas at national and international levels. Their role became Wulingyuan WHS in 1992. Tourism development differs from conventional protected areas in that they protect was significant, and in 1994 the small community’s name the resource upon which sustainable development is based, (Zhangjiajie) was adopted as a more accessible name for rather than protect the resource for and of itself (Zouros, the Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area WHS. 2009). Although Geoparks contain particular geological/geo- Impacts upon biological and ecological values prompted morphological heritage of international significance, it is im- UNESCO to issue a warning to the park in 2001. In response, portant to note that significant parts of Geoparks may not be local authorities adopted eco-tourism principles. The park legally ‘protected’ areas, as distinct from WHS, National Parks, was selected as a Global Geopark in 2004. It now receives or Ramsar sites. In many instances, sites of ecological, archae- around 9 million tourists a year. ological, historical and/or cultural value are included. So far UNESCO has granted Global Geopark status to 77 National Geoparks among 30 network-member countries and regions Differentiation of Landscapes in Zhangjiajie (http://www.globalgeopark.org). This total may increase to Geopark from Danxia Landscapes 500, a level that is comparable with the number of UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves. China has provided global leadership in During preparation of the Danxia WHS nomination, a number the establishment and promotion of Geoparks, granting Na- of Chinese scientists highlighted a desire for ’Danxia’ to be tional Geopark status to 183 national parks to date, among adopted as the generic term to define ’continental red-bed

Figure 1. Geographic location of the Zhangjiajie Geopark and National Forest Park. (a) Location in China; and (b) overview of main landforms in the Zhangjiajie area including the distribution of sandstone pillars (modified from Yang et al., 2009). This figure is available in colour online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/espl

Figure 2. Zhangjiajie landscapes: (a) conceptual model of different stages of landscape development in the Zhangjiajie area, and corresponding field examples of (b) single sandstone peaks, (c) peak forest and (d) peak walls with overlying karstic square mountain (planation surface). This figure is available in colour online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/espl landscapes’ world-wide. A Danxia Working Group was for- in Europe (e.g. Hruboskalsko rock city in the Czech Repub- malized at the IAG’s 7th International Conference, held in lic). However, relative to Zhangjiajie, these features are smal- Melbourne, in July 2009. In Danxia areas, sandstone is usually ler in extent and towers are more massive and lower, hardly just one component of the geology, which more often than not exceeding 50 m in height. Similar thin sandstone towers are is dominated by great thicknesses of conglomerates and/or found in northern Australia (Grimes et al., 2009; Wray and breccias, and may also contain mudstone, marl, some limestone Young, 2009), but again the height of these (15–50 m) is in- and evaporite. Furthermore, Danxia is a landscape developed significant compared with Zhangjiajie. There is no question- on Mesozoic continental deposits, while other apparently simi- ing the distinctiveness of the spectacular landforms at lar landscapes may be formed from marine sediments or older Zhangjiajie, but is it appropriate to refer to these landforms sandstones that have been subjected to different phases of as a ‘Zhangjiajie landscape’? lithification. Clear distinction should be made between the sandstone landforms at Zhangjiajie and the Danxia phenomenon. To appreciate the global significance of Zhangjiajie, Naming Conventions in Geomorphology and associated sandstone landscapes, a more extensive knowledge of the geology and geomorphology of comparable From an international geomorphological point of view, we do landscapes is required. To date, even the most basic database not consider the use of local names for landform types to be a does not exist, limiting our capacity to assess the comparative positive step. Geomorphologists typically name and interpret evolution, representativeness and significance of any individ- landforms in relation to generally applicable physical princi- ual locality. ples, rather than their resemblance to any particular place. As To our knowledge, the style and scale of development of such, there are dangers in setting a precedent that specifies the sandstone landscape at Zhangjiajie is unique at a global Zhangjiajie as a global landscape type for dissected landscape scale. Flat-lying sandstones tend to support extensive pla- plateaux, especially until more information about other similar teaux lined by cliffy escarpments and are seldom dissected landscapes is formalized. In the global context, the Zhangjiajie to such an extreme degree. Examples include the Blue Moun- landscape is best considered as the locality for an extreme form tains, the Carnarvon Range and the Arnhem Land Plateau in of plateau dissection, rather than being viewed as a landform Australia, the canyon-dissected sandstone uplands of the ‘type’ in isolation. Colorado Plateau and the thick cliff-lined sandstones of Mon- Because the desire for the naming of landform types is likely ument Valley and other parts of the central United States, to become more prominent in future development of Geoparks Baffin Island, Scandinavia and areas of northern Africa (e.g. and tourism in many parts of the world, it may be necessary to Tassili), and the Middle East such as Wadi Rum (Young set up a naming commission within the IAG, and/or a set of et al., 2011). Härtel et al. (2007) describe similar examples conventions by which a scientific approach for recognizing

Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms Vol. 36, 1981–1984 (2011) 1984 G. BRIERLEY ET AL. the diversity of landforms would be developed. Although local Municipal Government of Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province co-sponsored names serve a particular purpose, it is an altogether different the international workshop on sandstone landforms at Zhangjiajie matter to expect the global scientific community to be aware Global Geopark during 9–11 November, 2010. Gary Brierley and of and understand the generic significance of the local appella- Gerald Nanson are Visiting Professors with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. We thank the editor and reviewer for constructive tion. To understand the full scientific importance of a spectacu- comments. lar terrain such as Zhangjiajie, its special qualities, in terms of material, structure, form, process, and evolution need to be placed in a global context. Only then can particular type localities be assigned in a manner that conveys their true place References among world landforms and world geoheritage. The determi- Gray M. 2004. Geodiversity: Valuing and Conserving Abiotic Nature. nation of that type, and the eventual terminology assigned to Wiley: Chichester. it, is the role of geomorphologists. A robust scientific approach Grimes KG, Wray RAL, Spate A, Houshold I. 2009. Karst and Pseudo- to naming of landforms is required. The global perspective of- karst in Northern Australia. Report to the Commonwealth Depart- fered by the IAG makes it the obvious organization to promote ment of Water, Heritage and the Arts, Optimal Karst Management, and formalize such a process. This is a matter currently under Canberra. consideration by the Association. The ultimate result of that Härtel H, Cílek V, Herben T, Jackson A, Williams R (eds). 2007. Sand- stone Landscapes. Academia: Praha. process would only serve to strengthen the undoubted appeal Tooth S. 2009. Invisible geomorphology? Earth Surface Processes and of the spectacular landforms recognized locally by their own Landforms 34: 752–754. endemic names. Wray RAL, Young RW. 2009. Some Danxia-like sandstone landscapes No-one ‘owns’ landforms or landscapes. Although use of lo- of Northern Australia, World Danxia. First International Symposium cal names is important as it encourages local ownership, ulti- on Danxia Landform, 2nd Collection,26–28 May, 2009, Danxiashan, mately landscapes are shared with the world, and global Guangdong, China; 38–45. context is important in determining naming conventions. Yang G, Yang Z, Zhang X, Tian M, Chen A, Ge Z, Ping Y, Ni Z. 2010. Adopted terms should be simple to communicate and easily RS-based geomorphic analysis of Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest understood by a wide audience. Associated branding issues Geopark, China. Journal of Cultural Heritage 12:88–97. are hugely political and reveal an uneasy meeting of geomor- Yang G, Zhang X, Tian M, Ping Y, Chen A, Ge Z, Ni Y, Yang Z. 2011. Geomorphological and sedimentological comparison of fluvial ter- phological science and conservation practice. To date, interna- races and karst caves in Zhangjiajie, northwest Hunan, China: an ar- tional geomorphology has not formally named landscapes after chive of sandstone landform development. Environ Earth Science places. This issue is likely to be taken out of our hands unless DOI 10.1007/s12665-010-0887-6 we take steps to adopt appropriate naming conventions. Young RW, Wray RAL, Young ARM. 2009. Sandstone Landforms. Cam- bridge University Press: Cambridge. Acknowledgements—The Commission on Tourism Earth Science and Zouros N. 2009. Geomorphosites within geoparks. In Geomorphosites, Geopark of the Geological Society of China, the National Natural Reynard E, Coratza P, Regolini-Bissig G (eds). Pfeil Verlag: Munich; Science Foundation of China (NSFC No. 40788001), and the 105–118.