Soil Science and Geoecology
Winning project 2023 of the innovation funding program at the University of Potsdam
Suitcase and backpack for a better consciousness of SOIL
There is still too little awareness of soil as a resource in society. For schools and extracurricular places of learning, it must be noted that they can hardly fulfill the educational aim of "creating soil awareness". On the one hand, the teachers (for geography, natural sciences, biology) themselves are insufficiently trained in soil science topics. On the other hand, they usually don’t have enough time to teach selected topics. The idea of the project is to develop a prototype equipped with materials for a soil suitcase (SOIL-aware, in German: BODENbewusst) and a backpack (in terrain/direct contact with soil – SOIL-contact, in German: BODENkontakt). The materials are intended to encourage children (elementary school) and young people (secondary school) to explore soils in their natural environment through direct contact on site. In the future, the suitcase and backpack will be used by trained soil ambassadors in schools and extracurricular facilities in Brandenburg.
Contact: Dr. Beate Gall
The working group combines ecological, biogeochemical and environmental physical process understanding to research environmental systems. Particular attention is paid to human-environment interactions, because anthropogenic activities determine the functionality of ecosystems, which in turn largely determines human health. Therefore, our research activities are strongly interdisciplinary and oriented at the interfaces of the compartments pedosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Specialized fields of work deal with soil formation and site ecology, soil and sediment mineralogy and chemistry, aerosol mineralogy and chemistry, aquatic biogeochemistry or hydrochemistry. Integrating cross-cutting issues are the determination of ecosystem services, urban and habitat ecology, landscape development and aspects of preventive soil protection.
Our research approach uses field and laboratory methods, such as mobile and stationary air quality measuring stations or water quality sensor systems, but also the possibilities of mass spectrometry and X-ray analysis. We have a soil and water chemistry laboratory and a soil physics laboratory. The evaluation of the results is process-oriented and models are applied and developed to specify and simulate complex interactions in environmental systems. The new knowledge is used to develop measures that ensure a healthy and sustainable environment. A target group-specific communication of the topics in public supports this process.
The Chair of Soil Science and Geoecology is closely working together with the Working Group of Environmental Mineralogy and Environmental System Analysis at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Head
Prof. Dr.. Stefan Norra
Campus Golm | Haus 12 | Raum 1.03
Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25
14476 Potsdam-Golm
