Soil damage

A soil damage or harmful soil change is for humans a material adverse or dangerous impairment of soil functions. “Harmful soil changes” within the meaning of Section 2 (3) of the Federal Soil Protection Act (BBodSchG) are impairments of soil functions that are likely to cause dangers, significant disadvantages or significant nuisances for individuals or the general public.

In 1999, the soil was declared a third protected asset alongside water and air. In addition to the BBodSchG, guidelines, guidelines, forest construction principles, certification systems, etc.

Examples of possible soil damage

Soil damage can have various reasons and manifestations.

On the one hand there are natural processes of long-term soil development, which include many factors of soil degradation. Soils are always in contact with their environment and are therefore constantly developing. But this process is a constant, natural change. Soil damage in the true sense of the word only occurs when these processes increase sharply through human intervention.

On the other hand, a lot of soil damage is caused by artificial, purely human processes that do not occur in nature.

naturally occurring processes

process	description	Examples of human risk factors that speed up the process
Leaching or leaching	Dissolving and flushing out salts Nutrient loss	too much watering Arable land without vegetation (more seepage water) Forest clearance (especially in the tropics)
Soil erosion	Movement of soil by wind or water	Overuse and overgrazing (destruction of the vegetation cover) Agriculture on slopes Arable land without vegetation
Salinization of the soil	Accumulation of salt in the soil	Agriculture with irrigation in arid / semi-arid zones Irrigation management not adapted
Soil acidification	Drop in pH (natural process in humid zones) Depletion of buffer systems	Use of acidic fertilizers Lack of liming
Desertification	devastation	Overuse / overgrazing excessive water abstraction from rivers / lakes / groundwater Cultivation of water-intensive crops

artificial processes

process	description	Example (s)
Soil compaction	Change of soil structure to denser storage	Driving on with heavy machinery Leveling terrain
Active nutrient extraction	Excessive removal of nutrients Long-term destruction of the soil	Plague extraction Complete removal of all harvest residues
Earthworks	Breaks / structural damage Disturbance of the soil biotope	All major earth movements
Contamination	Introduction of harmful substances (Heavy metals, chemicals etc.)	Use of fertilizers Immissions Chemical accidents wild garbage dumps / garbage disposal Spreading of sewage sludge Military contaminated sites
Surface sealing	Sealing the surface of the earth Extensive destruction of all natural soil functions	Buildings such as settlements, industry Infrastructure like roads or airports
acid rain	Artificial soil acidification through polluted rainwater Loss of nutrients and buffer	Immissions

Requirements for environmental liability in the event of soil damage

The prerequisites for soil damage, which can be relevant for environmental liability and official intervention in accordance with the Federal Soil Protection Act, include: Introduction of substances etc. on, in or under the soil, thereby impairing soil functions according to Section 2 (2) BBodSchG and causing a risk to human health.

In order to counteract damage to the soil, the functional, regenerative and sustainable usability of the soil must be preserved over the long term.

See also

• Soil protection

literature

• D. Matthies: Recording of soil damage. In: AFZ: Allgemeine Forst-Zeitschrift für Waldwirtschaft und Umweltvorsorge ISSN  0002-5860 , ISSN  0936-1294 49th year (1994), No. 13, p. 723ff.
• H. Löffler: Soil damage during the wood harvest - meaning and recording. In: Der Forst- und Holzwirt ISSN  0015-7961 Volume 40 (1985), H. 14/15, pp. 379-383

Individual evidence

1. ↑ BBodSchG - unofficial table of contents. § 2 Definitions. (accessed on September 13, 2012).
2. ^ Protection Association of German Forests: "Threatened Forests Worldwide" (accessed on September 13, 2012).
3. ↑ Pfeiler, Ute: "Results of studies on soil pollution in free-range pigs". Dissertation, Agricultural and Horticultural Faculty of the Humboldt University of Berlin, July 1, 1999. 2.1.3.3. Soil protection. (accessed on September 13, 2012).
4. ↑ Federal Environment Agency: "Data on the Environment". (accessed on September 13, 2012).
5. ↑ Federal Environment Agency: "Environmental protection through environmental liability - The Environmental Damage Act". ( Memento of the original from May 29, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on September 13, 2012; PDF; 273 kB). 
6. ↑ LWF Leaflet 22 - "Soil protection when using forest machines". ( Memento of the original from February 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on September 13, 2012 .; PDF; 1.9 MB)