Soil structure formation through the action of plants and microbes

DFG Project-Nr.: AOBJ: 628683


During soil formation, the interaction of different biota with weathered mineral material shape characteristic structures of pores and solid.
In this DFG-Project soil structure formation is observed on a chronosequence of recultivation site in a lignite mining area, Germany. One of the aims is to investigate the impact of roots on the pore network over time. For this X-ray µCT is used on undisturbed soil columns of different scales to derive information about changes of pore space properties:


Soil Structure Fig.1: Biopores in a 3x3 cm soil sample from a depth of 50 cm. Left 3 years after recultivation, right 12 years after recultivation.


Soil Structure Reveal the hard work of plants and earthworms inside the soil

M. Lucas, S. Schlüter, H.-J. Vogel, D. Vetterlein

SoilStructure


Cooperation:


Prof. Dr. Ingrid Kögel-Knabnera
Prof. Dr. Michael Schlotera,b
MSc. Evelin Pihlapa
MSc. Miljenka Vukoa.b


aTU Munich - Chair of Soil Science
bHelmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health