How diverse should be geodiversity? Reply to Knight “Evaluating geological heritage” (Proc. Geol. Assoc. (2011))

This is a response to the Correspondence by Knight (Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 2011) entitled ‘Evaluating geological heritage’. In this response I suggest that geodiversity can be evaluated (1) conceptually as a natural treasure within landscape, cultural, and historical contexts and (2) numerically as a number of geosite types (not as a number of geosites). These points of view are not conflicting, but mutually profitable. Moreover, broad context and perception of geodiversity can be involved in its quantification. Geodiversity is viewed as a dynamic idea, which modifications will be reflected in every study of the regional geological heritage.