Soil value (german: Bodenwertzahl) or BWZ is a comparative assessment of

soil quality Soil quality refers to the condition of soil based on its capacity to perform ecosystem services that meet the needs of human and non-human life.Tóth, G., Stolbovoy, V. and Montanarella, 2007. Soil Quality and Sustainability Evaluation - An integr ...

used in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is determined from soil sampling data and ranges from 0 (very low) to 100 (very high). According to the Geological Service of the state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, the soil value of

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

is based on a field assessment framework which combines an assessment of soil type, soil condition (soil development) and the parent material of which the soil is composed. The result, the soil value, expresses the relative net income that, under normal and proper management, is determined only by the profitability of the soil. Additions or deductions in this value to take account of variations in yield due to terrain and climate (e.g. average annual temperature) give the field value (''Ackerzahl'').

Range of values

The following colour scheme is used referring to the soil quality for certain ranges of values:''Wertzahlen der Bodenschätzung''
at www.gd.nrw.de. Accessed on 2 Sep 2012. The values exhibited by different types of soil are:Antragsunterlagen Raumordnungsverfahren für den Neubau einer MonoDeponie, p. 70
Landkreis Wesermarsch, 5 November 2014, PDF file, 55,5 MB, p. 79

Origins

As a yardstick for soil quality, a "Reich Standard Farm" was set up during the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in the parish of Eickendorf in the Magdeburger Börde, an exceptionally rich arable region. During the Reich Soil Assessment (''Reichsbodenschätzung'') following the Soil Assessment Act in 1934 a soil value of 100 was established in the leading Reich farm of ''Haberhauffe/Jäger''. It was the basis of comparison for the tax rating of farms in Germany. Since this farm was no longer available for comparisons within

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, a farm in Machtsum near Harsum in the Hildesheim Börde was designated as the Federal Standard Farm. During later measurements, an even higher value of BWZ - 102.8 - was measured in Mölme, about 20 km east of Hildesheim within the municipality of Söhlde. It is the highest value ever recorded in Germany. Another measure, the field value (''Ackerzahl'') is derived from the soil value, taking account of other factors such as climate and location e.g. along the edge of woodland.

References

External links

''Wertzahlen der Bodenschätzung''
at www.gd.nrw.de. Accessed on 2 Sep 2012.

{{soil science topics Soil science Pedology Agronomy

Range of values

Origins

See also

References

External links