Forest soils (P05)
With the establishment of the Waldlabor, possible investigation and research sites have been secured for the long term. This results in many options for dealing with the topic of forest soil and making it accessible to a broad public.
Background
In Switzerland, there are several pedopath show trails with open and constantly maintained soil profiles. In the Waldlabor, a number of such sites are to be established in a less maintenance-intensive manner. They will be freshly prepared for student excursions or special events in the Waldlabor but will not be permanently accessible on site.
Goals
At sites typical for the forest conditions of the Central Plateau, profile pits are created in the Waldlabor and the soil is characterized. The results are made available for education and further projects.
The goal is to comprehensively communicate the great importance of soil for the forest ecosystem and for our environment. The target group is ETH students and the general public. The sites will be secured in the medium to long term and made available for future collaborations and knowledge transfer.
Currently, soil profiles have been exposed and characterized at four sites. If required, further sites can be processed accordingly. The results on the properties of the different soils are used for educational purposes at ETH and will be made available to the public on the Waldlabor website. Each soil profile will be also documented in the Waldlabor app in words and pictures.
Runtime
Project duration: 2021 to 2025; preparation of soil profiles (2021); analysis of soil samples (by the end of 2022); implementation of results on website and in Waldlabor app (from 2023 ); long-term maintenance.
Organisation
Project owner: Prof. Sebastian Dötterl, Bodenressourcen, D-USYS
Project leader: Professorship for Soil Resources, D-USYS
Project participants: Prof. Ruben Kretzschmar, D-USYS and
Stephan Zimmermann, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL
Further information
- Project outline Forest soils
- Contact project leader Sebastian Dötterl
