Characteristics and classification of anthropogenic soils in the Osnabruckarea, Germany

Soils in the area around Osnabruck/Northwest Germany have been strongly inf luenced by man. The classification of these soils based on the German and i nternational classification systems is problematical. Eight representative soils, two Anthrosols (plaggic and hortic), four soils affected by the coal and steel industry and consisting of distinct monosubstrata (coal and ore mining heaps, slag heap, sludge area) as well as two deposits of heterogene ous waste components (reclaimed wet land, filled quarry) were investigated. The sites are assessed in relation to their contamination by heavy metals and PAH as well as suitability for plant growth. An attempt was made to cla ssify the soils using the current classification of World Reference Base fo r Soil Resources (WRB), German Soil Science Society Classification, FAO and the USA. These systems enables a satisfactory classification of two Anthro sols compared with the other soils. In the US taxonomy, the pedogenesis of technological substrata was not considered. In the FAO taxonomy, it is not acceptable to term all soils as Urbic Anthrosols without any further differ entiation. This differentiation was enabled in both the WRB and the German taxonomy. In the WRB taxonomy, however, only anthropic subunits of the Rego sols are included. An improvement could be achieved by the introduction of comparable subunits of the Arenosols, Durisols, Gleysols, and Leptosols. In the German taxonomy (normally soil and substrata are classified separately ), the induction of toxic subunits in the presence of high soil contaminati on influencing the edaphon would be helpful. Furthermore, soils hardened by silica should be classified as respective varieties.