Project Title: Mapping Soil Quality in the Lusatian Mining Region (KaBoLa)

Further information on the external project website: boden-entdecken.de

In this project, the Research Center for Landscape Development and Mining Landscapes (FZLB) of the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg aims to raise public awareness about the significance and threat potentials of the environmental medium soil. Together with regional and municipal partners, we aim to encourage environmentally interested citizens in the Lusatian mining region to engage more closely with the properties and potentials of the soils in their homeland. The goal is to place decision-making for sustainable land use in the communities on a new foundation and to preserve soil potentials.

For this purpose, a web application for mapping soil quality based on the scientifically tested Müncheberg “Soil Quality Rating” (Müller et al. 2007) will be developed in the first part of the project. In initial workshops, participants will learn how to create a soil profile using this application and determine soil quality using parameters such as soil color. In further workshops, participants will come together with representatives from surrounding municipalities and agricultural cooperatives to discuss the current state of Niederlausitzer soils and what forms of use are possible and sensible.

Source: Mueller, L., Schindler, U., Behrendt, A., Eulenstein, F., and Dannowski, R., 2007: The Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (SQR) Field Manual for detecting and assessing properties and limitations of soils for cropping and grazing, Müncheberg, Germany.

Funding Provider: Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV)

Funding Area: Extracurricular Environmental Education Contribution to the Goals of the German Sustainability Strategy (DNS): Clean Water and Sanitation (Goal 6), Affordable and Clean Energy (Goal 7), Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11), Life on Land (Goal 15)

Project Duration: 01.07.2023 – 30.06.2025

Location: Niederlausitz