Technosol

A Technosol is a reference soil group of the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB). Technosols only appear in the Holocene , and their properties and their development ( pedogenesis ) are more or less completely shaped by their technical, anthropogenic origin.

Education and characteristics

Soil profile of a Technosol

Technosols form on all types of materials that humans have significantly influenced through action, or on artificially applied material that would otherwise not appear on the surface of the earth. Due to human influences, some typical features can be identified:

• They often contain a significant amount of artifacts , that is, isolated residues in the ground that can undoubtedly be traced back to human activities such as pottery shards, charcoal or coins . Artifacts ( artefacts ) are a diagnostic material of the WRB.
• Some of them consist entirely of materials that would not naturally occur there. A distinction is made between natural materials ( overburden ) and technical materials that were created by humans ( concrete , glass , bricks , plastic , ceramics ...).
• There are frequent abrupt changes of material due to staggered orders or removals. A natural sandy subsoil can suddenly be overlaid with brick remnants, on which clayey topsoil has been applied.
• They are often sealed by technical measures .
• These soils have a higher risk of being contaminated than other soils due to frequent components such as debris or garbage . Many technosols have to be handled with care as they contain toxic substances from industrial processes.

distribution

Technosols can be found all over the world in or near settlements , roads , mines , landfills , oil spills or coal and spoil heaps. This includes soils made from waste ( landfills , sewage fields , heaps ), sidewalks with their underlying consolidated materials, soils with waterproofing membranes, and artificially built soils made from man-made materials. They are typically closely linked to previous or current human activities.

In sparsely populated areas they occur only in small areas. However, their distribution should not be underestimated, especially in densely populated countries. A large part of the area there is anthropogenically shaped. In 2010, around 14% of the area of Germany can be assigned to the area of ​​settlement or transport and are therefore potential technosols. A large part of the subsoil consists of rubble, especially after the effects of the war.

Since they can be absolutely dominant in urban or industrial areas, they are often referred to as city ​​floors . Very characteristic is the close association with natural soil types that are found wherever there are no man-made materials.

Classification in other soil systematics

They are referred to in the "new Russian soil classification system" as "Technogenic Superficial Formations".

useful information

The German Soil Science Society has named Technosol or “The City Floors” floor of the year 2010.

See also

• City floor
• Surface sealing
• Bottom of the year

Web links

• http://www.dbges.de/ Website of the German Soil Science Society
• http://www.dbges.de/wb/pages/boden-des-jahres.php Page about the soil of the year 2010
• Profile photos (with classification) WRB homepage
• Profile photos (with classification) IUSS World of Soils

literature

• Jürgen Pietsch, Heino Kamieth: City floors: developments, loads, evaluation and planning, 1991
• IUSS Working Group WRB: World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2014, Update 2015. World Soil Resources Reports 106, FAO, Rome 2015. ISBN 978-92-5-108369-7 ( PDF 2.3 MB).
• W. Zech, P. Schad, G. Hintermaier-Erhard: Soils of the world. 2nd Edition. Springer Spectrum, Heidelberg 2014. ISBN 978-3-642-36574-4 .
• W. Amelung, H.-P. Blume , H. Fleige, R. Horn, E. Kandeler , I. Kögel-Knabner , R. Kretschmar, K. Stahr , B.-M. Wilke: Scheffer / Schachtschabel textbook of soil science. 17th edition. Heidelberg 2018. ISBN 978-3-662-55870-6 .
• P. Schad: Technosols in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources - history and definitions. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition 64 (2), 138-144, Tokyo 2018.