Options
2001
Journal Article
Titel
Requirements of physical, chemical and biological testing methods for estimating the quality of soils and soil substrates
Titel Supplements
Extended summary of the GDCh Monograph, Vol.20 on the "Requirements of physical, chemical and biological testing methods for estimating soil structures and soil substrates"
Abstract
Soils represent complex dynamic systems which form the living space for flora and fauna, as well as for mankind. This pedosphere is influenced by numerous substance flows and interactions, many of them still today unknown, which may be of a more chemical, physical or biological nature, so that the soil can be considered to be a prime example for a variable system. Because of their complexity, soils have numerous capabilities of reacting against 'harmful' processes, which are primarily triggered by mankind, in both a balanced and a buffered manner. These buffering and filtering properties of the soil, however, are not unlimited, a fact which has been demonstrated in numerous examples seen in the recent past. In Germany, the Federal Soil Protection Act (Bundesbodenschutzgesetz; BBodSchG) was therefore adopted in 1998. With the establishment of the Federal Soil Protection Act, it has been accepted that "The purpose of this legislation is the protection of the soil as a central component of the ecosystem and as a basic necessity of life for humans, animals and plants. The soil only has a limited resistance to contaminants, so that any damage suffered may frequently prove to be irreparable or may only be counteracted through the application of considerable expenses. In addition, the danger associated with the gradual enrichment of environmentally hazardous materials in the soil continues to increase as well. The alterations which thereby develop primarily remain unseen, although, in the long run, they may ultimately result in irreparable damage to the soil. Should the resistance of the soil to damage eventually be surmounted, this may, for instance by way of the food chain, lead to the transmission of pollutants to food products or might result in injurious alterations to the groundwater. Consequently, excessive demands dealing with the ecological capabilities of the soil also frequently lead to limitations in the exploitation of the soil. Long-term precautionary soil protection must guarantee an enduring protection of the functions of the soil with regard to the ecosystem. This must be taken into-consideration particularly because of the gradual increase in environmentally hazardous materials, which may, in the long run, lead to the development of damage in the soil which is no longer reversible. The Federal Soil Protection Act is therefore responsible for establishing regulations which serve to avoid detrimental influences to the soil as far as possible. Available knowledge could be used as a basis for the conception of this legislation. At the same time, it has become clear that extensive, interdisciplinary and success-oriented research will become mandatory in order to meet the demands which are seen to reflect the complexity of soils and the processes which are thereby involved. The relatively late application of this interdisciplinary research is responsible for the fact that some parts of the Soil Protection Act, especially soil biology, have not yet been supported by sufficient investigations. The scientific and practice-related discussions concerning the Federal Soil Protection Act, on the other hand, have made their impression in current research and have even greatly stimulated the development of this research with regard to its practice-related and interdisciplinary structure. The goal of the authors was to provide an overview concerning the existing spectrum of methods for the evaluation of undesirable harmful effects to the soil, and to discuss this information critically with regard to its applicability and significance. An essential feature here was the demonstration of the present status of ecotoxicological testing methods for the evaluation of natural soil functions and an attempt to make a plea for the inclusion of these ecotoxicological methods within the structure of the Federal Soil Protection Act. In this contribution die main results of this review are provided, while all details including a comprehensive list of references can be found in the GDCh monograph (Kördel et al. 2000).