The East of England's geodiversity is a physical archive in the landscape, and comprises a unique range of Earth heritage resources. However the integrity and accessibility of these resources is under constant threat.

Here are some examples of a range of threats drawn from the county of Suffolk.
 

Exposures of strata in cliffs are vulnerable to coastal defence engineering. Private dumping at Easton Bavents, Suffolk, has buried part of a geological SSSI, the type site of the Baventian period.		Farm gravel pits are vulnerable to backfilling. Here, a small gravel pit at Winston, Suffolk, is being filled with farm waste, so reducing access to local information about glacial sediments of the Lowestoft Till.

Natural river channels are often managed to promote through-flow as a priority. The River Waveney at Wortham, Suffolk, has been straightened and channelised to a depth of three metres, with a consequent loss of habitat and linkage with its floodplain.		Landseer Park at Ipswich, Suffolk, is an artificial landform created by a landscaped rubbish tip filling a natural valley. Red Crag with fossils was once exposed in the banks of the stream.

 

•  Damage to soil features and processes through

•  destruction of soil profile and structure;

•  soil erosion;

•  soil contamination.

Modern agriculture is able to cultivate poor, sandy soils using chemical fertilisers. Compacted, bare soil with little humus content is vulnerable to gulley erosion, as seen here at Henham, Suffolk.		Soil profiles have taken many thousands of years to develop. Destruction of soil profiles leads to a loss of soil fertility. Seen here, subsoil is being spread over topsoil on a field at Eye, Suffolk.

·  Lack of public understanding about geodiversity, and why it is valuable for scientific, educational, cultural, functional and aesthetic reasons.

Geological features in urban areas are vulnerable to vandalism. These sarsen stones displayed in a park at Ipswich, Suffolk have been spray-painted and attacked with mechanical grinding tools.