Soil science and soil data are of greatest importance for nearly all aspects of land use like agriculture, development and construction, water cycle etc. The disregarding of soil characteristics causes fatal and sometimes irreparable damages as land slides, soil erosion, soil compaction, soil pollution soil infertility etc. Disturbed soils are no longer able to act as essential factors of ecosystem by storing and filtering water, buffering, adsorbing and exchanging nutrients and toxic elements also. An unstable or compacted soil structure can slide or enlarge the unproductive and destructive overland flow which is on the other hand a deficit in groundwater recharge.
KRIETER WATER & ENVIRONMENT is very experienced in soil research and soil consulting like:
1. Soil classification and soil mapping
2. Soil physics and soil hydrology:
- texture – grain size distribution, density etc
- structure, porosity – pore size distribution, pF-characteristic
- aggregate stability, slope stability
- soil water balance, infiltration rate, permeability, field capacity, percolation
3. Soil chemistry:
- pH, conductivity, carbonate content, organic mass content
- buffering capacity, cation exchange capacity, redox characteristic
- contamination by organic and inorganic elements
- nutrient requirement, supply and availability, C/N ratio
- leaching of nutrients and pollutants
- chemistry of soil water
4. Soil biology:
- microbiological activity
- mineralization of organic matters, decay of organic pollutants
- rooting dynamic of plants, water-/nutrient uptake.
