GeoDIV Interface: an Open Source Tool for management and promotion of the Geodiversity of Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park (Andalusia, Spain)

The main purpose of the present work is to show the prototype of an innovative WebGis graphical interface, related to Open Source (OS) Database Management System (DBMS), for the management and promotion of geodiversity features of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park (Andalusia, SW Spain). Located on the Betic Ranges, the study area shows a wide variety of geological and geomorphological features, mainly consisting in spectacular exo- and endokarstic landforms. The identification, interpretation and appropriate representation of the major exokarstic forms have been carried out through photointerpretation and spatial analysis functions of OS Geographical Information System (GIS) and Digital Terrain Model analytic tools. Furthermore, the field detection allowed a better understanding of these karst morphologies and their correct positioning in the stratigraphical and geological regional framework. Due to the large proportions of the Park surface (53.411 ha), the smaller scale zone of Sierra de Libar (85 squ. km) was chosen as pilot study area, in order to check the feasibility and to improve the design of the main research. The large amount of these preliminary data collected for the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park have been inserted into a Database (DB) where spatial data are managed by GIS software. These DB allow the management, implementation and exportation of data, particularly on the Internet. The aim of the project, in addition to the collection and characterization of the geodiversity, provides the possibility of divulging through WebGIS, all the 2D and 3D informations collected. The ability to show all the available data online can be carried out through GeoDIV application, created ad-hoc for the project, using Mapserver OS application that allows viewing, querying and graphical output of spatial data. The continued implementation of the database will be directly linked to GeoDiv that will display automatically updates and changes to the database.