Courses

Overview
Lecture/Exercise in the Master's Program: Environmental Natural Sciences
Instructor: Prof. Magdalena Sut-Lohmann
When and Where: Thursdays, 09:45 – 11:15, LK 19c.1
Assessment: Final Report

Learning Objectives:
Students will gain an overview of the specific properties of urban soils, including various parent materials, technogenic substrates, soil formation processes, and the resulting physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Topics such as soil sealing, contamination, parent substrates, and soil functions—including urban agriculture—will be explored in depth.
The practical component offers a hands-on approach essential for understanding the fundamentals of geoecological research. Students will learn about research design and planning, sampling techniques, laboratory procedures, and how to write a technical report.

Content:

Lecture:

• Ecosystem services (key properties and functions)

• Classification of urban soils according to the WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources)

• Challenges of urban soils (urban heat islands, soil sealing, contamination)

• Remediation and sustainable management approaches (sponge city, remote sensing, urban gardening, soil improvement)

Exercise:

• Study design and problem definition

• Urban soil sampling

• Laboratory analyses

When and Where: Tuesdays, 13:15 – 14:45, LK 19c.2

Content:
Students will acquire knowledge about the occurrence and distribution of soils in Northern Germany. They will understand the ecological characteristics, as well as the use and threats to soils under specific local conditions.
Students will be able to evaluate the suitability of various locations for land use, taking into account the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soils.

Topics include:

• Geomorphological structure of Central Europe

• Relationships between parent rock and soil quality

• Soils of Northern Germany

• Land use, agriculture and forestry

In addition to the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the major soils in Northern Germany, students will gain knowledge in land use, soil improvement (e.g., waterlogged and groundwater-affected soils, podzols), peatland cultivation and restoration, as well as land reclamation.

Literature:

• Scheffer, F. and Schachtschabel, P., 2002, Lehrbuch der Bodenkunde, 15th ed., Spektrum, Heidelberg

• Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), 2016, Soil Atlas of Germany: Soils in Thematic Maps, Schweizerbart, Stuttgart