Soil value () 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 integ ...

used in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, the soil value of

arable land Arable land (from the , "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 the purposes of a ...

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 Wesermarsch is a '' Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Neighboring are (from the east clockwise) the districts of Cuxhaven and Osterholz, the city of Bremen in the state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, the urban d ...

, 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, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

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 was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a farm in Machtsum near Harsum in the

Hildesheim Börde The Hildesheim Börde ( or ''Braunschweig-Hildesheimer Lössbörde'') is a natural region, 272 km2 in area, in the northern part of Hildesheim district, which is known for its especially rich black earth loess soil. Location The '' börde'' l ...

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 Söhlde is a village and a municipality in the Hildesheim (district), district of Hildesheim, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km east of Hildesheim, and 10 km northwest of Salzgitter. Notable residents * Gott ...

. 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