"Das Watt" (Tidalic Gelysol): Soil of the year 2020!
4 December 2019, by Lars Kutzbach
Selecting the "Watt" as the soil of the year 2020 has special significance for the Institute of Soil Science of Universität Hamburg. This young and dynamic soil type - formed at the interface betwen land and water under continuous tidal influence - plays an important role for the Northern-German region and beyond. Correspondingly, the "Watt" is in the focus of soil research and geoscientific education at the Institute of Soil Science. In view of the profound changes of the tidal flats ecosystems, the investigation of the element cycles of the tidal flats under the influence of climate change and coastal and river engineering is an important research focus of the scientists at the Institute of Soil Science.
Dr. Alexander Gröngröft, Prof. Dr. Lars Kutzbach and master student Yeliz Akkul engaged as scientific advisors for this joint activity of the Agency for Environment and Energy of the City of Hamburg, the Institute of Soil Science and the Center of Natural History (CeNak) of Universität Hamburg and the "Kuratoriums Boden des Jahres".
You can find more information here (only in German):
https://www.hamburg.de/boden-des-jahres
https://www.cenak.uni-hamburg.de/aktuelles/news/2019-12-04-news.html