Soil Science & Geomorphology

"Why Are Our Soils Becoming Oversalted?" – Interview with Prof. Thomas Scholten in ÖKO-TEST.

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:25:20 +0100

"Why are our soils becoming oversalted?" Interview with Thomas Scholten in the magazine "ÖKO-TEST" (February 2026 issue) on soil salinization.

In the February 2026 issue of ÖKO-TEST (available since late January 2026), soil expert Prof. Dr. Thomas Scholten explains the causes of increasing soil salinization (e.g., intensive fertilization, irrigation, climate change), its environmental and agricultural consequences, and why this under-discussed issue threatens soil fertility, water quality, and food security worldwide.

The issue's main theme is salt consumption, with this interview highlighting the parallel problem in soils.

Read more about the issue and purchase (print or digital): → https://www.oekotest.de/hefte/Magazin-Februar-2026-Salz_M2602.html

Citizen Science with School Children: Soilcast Podcast Interview "An die Schaufeln, fertig, los!"

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 14:17:11 +0100

Citizen Science with school children, Soilcast Interview "An die Schaufeln, fertig, los!" with Steffen Seitz, Jennifer Raffler, and Thomas Scholten on a joint citizen science and education project with the Hector Children Academy

In collaboration with the Hector Kinderakademien and the Soil Science and Geomorphology Group at the University of Tübingen, the course "An die Schaufeln, fertig, los!" (Shovels ready, go!) was developed for gifted primary school children. In this Soilcast podcast episode (published December 23, 2025), host Christoph speaks with Jennifer Raffler (Hector Institute), Prof. Dr. Thomas Scholten, and PD Dr. Steffen Seitz about combining soil science, gifted education, and citizen science. The children actively collect real research data, including the Tea-Bag-Index, which contributes directly to studies on soil health, organic matter decomposition, and climate impacts on carbon storage.

The project demonstrates why children are outstanding young scientists: their curiosity, drive to explore, and insightful questions add unique value to soil research.

Listen to the full interview (45 minutes): → https://soilcast.de/interview/sc175-interview-an-die-schaufeln-fertig-los/

More information on the Hector Kinderakademien: → https://hector-kinderakademie.de

Download the full interview PDF: →Hector-Kinderakademie_Interview_Citizen-Science.pdf

Successful PhD Defense of Nicolás Riveras Muñoz

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:23:49 +0100

On December 4th, Nicolás Riveras Muñoz successfully defended his PhD, exploring how biological soil crusts (biocrusts) and climate interact to shape soil stabilization, erosion, and carbon and nitrogen dynamics across a ~1,500 km climate gradient in Chile’s Coastal Range. Through innovative field experiments, his research revealed that biocrusts strongly influence most of these processes, while their effects vary markedly among sites. These differences are driven by local mechanisms, from the extreme drought of the Atacama Desert to the high organic matter of the cold, humid Nahuelbuta forests. His thesis, “Biological soil crust and climate effects on soil stabilization, erosion, and nutrient dynamics across the Chilean Coastal Range,” was developed within the DFG-SPP 1803 EarthShape project. EarthShape brings together soil scientists, geologists, ecologists, microbiologists, and modelers to understand how life shapes landscapes along Chile’s remarkable climate gradient.

Warmest congratulations!

PAH Analysis for Reconstructing Fire History in the Echaz Floodplain

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:03:57 +0100

Analyses of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from samples of the Echaz-Eger Project within the “SPP 2361 On the Way to the Fluvial Anthroposphere”.

In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Eva Lehndorff, we analyzed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from 53 samples of the Echaz floodplain at the University of Bayreuth over a two-month period.

PAH analyses serve as an indicator for reconstructing past fire activity and allow conclusions to be drawn about the type of fire and the affected tree and vegetation species. For this purpose, individual PAH compounds such as anthracene, fluoranthene, naphthalene, pyrene, and other components were quantified and evaluated. These results are then interpreted for a comparative land use reconstruction (from c. AD 1100 to 1800) in the Echaz floodplain.

Successful PhD Defense of Ali Sakhaee

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 13:51:03 +0100

Ali Sakhaee successfully defended his dissertation, “Spatial Prediction of Organic Matter in German Agricultural Soil with Machine Learning”. Using the first German Agricultural Soil Inventory (3104 sites), he developed and compared state-of-the-art machine-learning approaches for nationwide prediction of soil organic carbon (SOC), C/N ratio, and SOM fractions.

Key innovations include a two-model approach (separate models for mineral and organic soils), an enhanced regressor-chain method, and the application of conformal prediction for spatial uncertainty quantification. The thesis provides harmonized, high-resolution maps for the whole of Germany and represents a major methodological advance in digital soil mapping.

Heartfelt congratulations!

Successful PhD Defense of Tom Brög

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 13:43:46 +0100

Tom Brög successfully defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Remote Sensing-Based Monitoring of Cropland Soil Organic Carbon”. The work demonstrates how multispectral soil reflectance composites derived from Sentinel-2 and Landsat time series can be used for cost-efficient, large-scale mapping and long-term monitoring of soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural soils.

For the first time, predicted SOC trends were validated against repeated measurements from long-term soil monitoring sites. The results significantly improve the cost-effectiveness of SOC monitoring under EU Carbon Farming and Carbon Removals initiatives by enabling targeted sampling where satellite-based predictions deviate from expected management effects.

Warmest congratulations!