Lothar Mueller

• Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research

Eine umfassende Analyse von interaktiven Prozessen zwischen Boden, Wasser, Pflanze, Tiere und Atmosphäre für eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft erfordert Kenntnisse von hydrologischen Parametern und Prozessen in unterschiedlichen Skalen. Methoden und Ergebnisse aus bodenhydrologischen Studien in Nordostdeutschland werden vorgestellt. Die Untersuchunge...

Soils, the thin skin of the earth, a living body, are the basis of all highly developed life and have ensured human existence and culture since millennia. Their functions and ecosystem services are crucial for the survival of humanity. Increasing pressure on soils through overuse and mismanagement has exceeded their capacity to perform, which is co...

Physical soil degradation is a deterioration of the soil’s structure diminishing its functions and ecosystem services. It is mainly initiated and manifested by physical forces and processes, such as energy impacts of water, wind and mechanical pressure on soils, and it is accelerated by various kinds of anthropogenic pressure. This is a threat to m...

Soil degradation is an exceedance of the capacity and resiliency of soil for providing functions and ecosystem services. It is a complex ongoing phenomenon threatening humans’ livelihoods and our future on earth. Knowledge gain can help to find solutions for monitoring, preventing and combating soil degradation. In this chapter we address the essen...

This book informs about knowledge gain in soil and land degradation to reduce or prevent it for meeting the mission of the Sustainable Developments Goals of the United Nations. Essence, extent, monitoring methods and implications for ecosystem functioning of main soil degradation types are characterized in overview chapters and case studies. Chall...

Climate change in Europe will lead to new precipitation patterns over the coming years and the annual temperature will increase significantly. These changes in climate variables and the resulting effects on agricultural productivity must be differentiated regionally. Plant production depends on sufficient rainfall in summer and, in some regions, on...

Due to the multiplicity of challenges facing all societies at the beginning of the twenty-first century, agricultural systems and rural landscapes are under pressure. Solutions for their optimization towards sustainability at high productivity are required. We address the majority of current agricultural systems and discuss approaches for assessing...

Most vegetated land on earth has been used for agriculture for hundreds of years, shaping the land’s features and functions. Agricultural (rural) landscapes are the basis for feeding the global population and meeting their many other demands. In the globalised world of the twenty-first century, agriculture is facing some crucial challenges: feeding...

Sustainable intensification (SI) is a concept for increasing agricultural production under sustainable conditions to meet the needs of the worldwide growing population. We reviewed the status and trends of SI on the basis of latest scientific publications. Some progress was found in evolving the concept of SI for meeting the Sustainable Development...

Agricultural landscapes (rural landscapes, agrolandscapes) are territories shaped by agricultural production. They have enabled the development of human civilizations and are a cultural achievement. Peasants, farmers and agricultural enterprises feed society. They have created agricultural landscapes for their business and habitats for their life....

The book informs about agricultural landscapes, their features, functions and regulatory mechanisms. It characterizes agricultural production systems, trends of their development, and their impacts on the landscape. Agricultural landscapes are multifunctional systems, coupled with all nexus problems of the 21th century. This has led to serious disc...

An agricultural landscape is a section of a region shaped by its natural landscape features primarily involving agricultural land use and land management. Intensive anthropogenic activities have left a permanent mark on agricultural landscapes, which have been developed over hundreds of years. Agricultural landscapes constitute a spatiotemporal str...

A new geological epoch has begun—the Anthropocene. Huge anthropogenic transformations of terrestrial landscapes over the past five decades have forced its declaration. Exploring of interaction of humans with nature in general, and with landscapes in particular, can be characterised properly by the terms ‘landscape research’ and ‘landscape science’....

This book presents definitions, key concepts and projects in landscape research and related areas, such as landscape science and landscape ecology, addressing and characterising the international role, status, challenges, future and tools of landscape research in the globalised world of the 21st century. The book brings together views on landscape...

Landschaftsveränderungen eines Flußniederungsgebietes während der letzten 200 Jahre und daraus abgeleitete Entwicklungsziele

Landnutzung im Fusspolder Oderbruch in den letzten 250 Jahren

The paper presents a data base of 173 soil hydrological data (raw data) from 71 sites all over the world (Asia, Africa, Australia America and Europe). The samples were mainly collected and measured as part of research projects. The soils cover a wide range of texture classes and dry bulk densities. The data base consists of water retention and unsa...

Global and climate changes influence the basic conditions for agriculture. Therefore there is not only a demand for a strict climate protection but also for an adaptation of agriculture to changing conditions. For a study region of 60x40 km within the moraine landscape of North-East Germany mainly used for agriculture, water balance, nitrogen and S...

A comprehensive study of interactive processes between soil, water, plant, animal and atmosphere to protect the natural resources requires knowledge of parameters and processes in different scales. Soil hydrological studies in North-East Germany were carried out in different scales, starting with laboratory, lysimeter measurements and in the field....

This review presentsthe methods used to assess soil, pore water and groundwater nutrient levels on farms and agricultural fields. The purpose of this catalog of methods is to provide a basis for evaluating the efficiency of measures for the control of water catchment areas. A Zone monitoring model (ZMM) which is a basis for appropriate monitoring s...

Sustainable, environmentally friendly and resource-saving water and nutrient management in horticulture requires knowledge of the hydraulic suitability of horticultural substrates for each specific application. The aim of this study was to develop methods and a rating framework to assess the hydraulic performance of horticultural substrates. The hy...

Besides nutrient composition, the hydraulic performance of horticultural substrates is a main issue for evaluating their quality for horticultural purposes. Their water and air capacity and their suitability for transporting water are important hydraulic quality indicators. Shrinkage and water repellency could have a negative impact on storing and...

Horticultural substrates, also referred to as growing media, potting soils and gardening or soilless substrates, are widely used as a basis for vegetable and flower production in horticulture. They are created as a composition of different ingredients (bog peat, organic residuals, coir, perlite and other components). Hydraulic properties such as wa...

This chapter reviews and summarises the overall content of the book “Novel Methods for Monitoring and Managing Land and Water Resources in Siberia”. The book starts with an extended analysis of water and land resources, characterising the natural conditions of Siberian landscapes, their ecosystems, crucial processes and human impacts on soil and wa...

Siberia has experienced significant transformations over the past 70 years and particularly since the introduction of the market economy 25 years ago. This has caused implications for landscape processes and for the status of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We review the role of science and technology in monitoring, understanding and developing...

Siberia is the backbone of the economy of modern Russia due to huge reserves of gas, oil, land and water. Not only resource extracting and processing industries, but also forestry and agriculture capitalize these resources with implications for local and global processes of nature and society. We analysed the state of land and water resources with...

This chapter provides information about an emerging approach for rating agricultural soil quality (SQ) and crop yield potentials consistently over a range of spatial scales. We developed and tested the Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (M-SQR), a straightforward, indicator-based overall method for agricultural SQ assessment. The aim of this chapter i...

Monitoring and protecting the natural resources of soil and water, and their ecosystems, is intended to ensure the long-term conservation of their functions. To understand the reasons for resource degradation or ecosystem alterations and interactions, knowledge is required of processes and parameters on different scales of landscapes. Soil hydrolog...

The Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (M-SQR) is a new approach for assessing soil suitability for arable and grassland farming, and estimating crop yield potential on a global scale. We utilized this approach to construct a small-scale map of crop yield potentials covering arable lands in Germany. M-SQR rules and algorithms were adapted to the termi...

This book summarises the outcomes of the several projects and of a number of other recent studies related to the topic of land and water monitoring and Management in Siberia. It is intended to be a source of information for all those dealing with its subject: methods for the characterisation and wise utilisation of land and water resources in Siber...

Sustainable, environmentally friendly and resource-saving water and nutrient management in horticulture requires knowledge of the suitability of horticultural substrates for each specific application. One specific element is their hydraulic performance. To meet this requirement, methods are needed (1) to measure the hydraulic properties and (2) to...

Gardening substrates are produced for horticultural use as a mixture of different organic and mineral ingredients. 18 commercial gardening substrates were hydraulically investigated during this study. The aims of the study were (i) to examine the extended evaporation method (EEM) for quantifying the hydraulic properties of gardening media and (ii)...

In general, soils and their pore size systems are assumed to be rigid during the loss of water on drying. In reality, it is not the case for most soils, especially for soils with high quantities of clay or organic matter. As a result of shrinking, there are changes in the bulk density, the porosity, the pore size distribution, and the hydraulic pro...

The chapter gives an overview of global land potentials, crop yields and their limiting factors, and of methods to evaluate the productivity potential of land. Maintaining the capacity of the global land resource to produce plant biomass which can be used for humans is one of the most challenging issues of the 21st century. We need methodologies to...

Grasslands and rangelands are very important ecosystems influencing natural cycles and human existence and well-being. Their functional status can be greatly affected by soil and water management. Grasslands are prone to degradation, but comprehensive frameworks and objective criteria for their monitoring are largely absent. Simple field methods of...

Sustainable use of soils is a vital issue in the 21st century to meet global challenges of food security, demands for energy and water, climate change and biodiversity. Eurasia has reasons to tackle and solve these problems soon. It covers the largest landmass and has the highest population density of the earth. Tools for reliable, simple and consi...

This book deals with methods which could gain importance for better monitoring and management of water and land resources in Central Asia. Knowledge about the existence, principles and potential benefit of these methods could improve the work of researchers, the authorities, managers, and decision makers. Science teachers at universities have a par...

The aim of this paper was to quantify soil quality in agricultural landscapes over large regions. For this purpose, representative soil catenas and single soil pits were dug, analysed and classified on test sites in Russia, Kazakhstan and Germany. Soil quality and crop yield potentials were assessed using the Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (M-SQR)...

We developed and tested a specific approach for multi-species grazing on deer farms by combining some principles of contemporary livestock husbandry: the fenced farming of domestic ruminants, deer farming and multi-species grazing. Our approach was designed to optimize the use of extensively managed grasslands. Even in temperate sub-humid climates...

Central Asia is the global hotspot of a nexus of resources. Land, water and food are key issues in this nexus. We analysed the status of land and water resources and their potential and limitations for agriculture in the five Central Asian Transition States. Agricultural productivity and its impacts on land and water quality were also studied. The...

The book aims to initiate a sustainable use of land and water resources in Central Asia by the transfer of scientific methods. It deals with the most advanced methods worldwide for better monitoring and management of water and land resources. We offer an array of methods of measuring, assessing, forecasting, utilizing and controling processes in ag...

Knowledge about the soil hydraulic properties - water retention curve and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity - is required for soil water modelling and various soil hydrological studies. In general, soils and their pore size system are assumed to be rigid during the loss of water on drying. This is different from reality for many soils, especially...

Soil structure is an important aspect of agricultural soil quality, and its preservation and improvement are key to sustaining soil functions. Methods of overall soil quality assessment which include visual soil structure information can be useful tools for monitoring and managing the global soil resource. The aim of the paper is: (i) to demonstrat...

Ziel unserer Arbeiten ist die Klassifikation und funktionelle Bewertung von Agrarstandorten nach einheitlichen Kriterien. Solche Informationen könnten für die überregional vergleichende Bewertung und standortgerechte nachhaltige agrarische Nutzung von Böden hilfreich sein. Wir untersuchten mehr als 100 repräsentative Böden auf Versuchsstandorten in...

This paper provides information about a novel approach of rating agricultural soil quality (SQ) and crop yield potentials consistently over a range of spatial scales. The Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating is an indicator-based straightforward overall assessment method of agricultural SQ. It is a framework covering aspects of soil texture, structure,...

Knowledge of the soil hydraulic functions is required for various hydrological studies and for the simulation of water and solute fluxes in unsaturated soils. Sand/kaolin boxes are frequently used to determine these properties in the low-tension range. For higher tensions the pressure plate extractor is mainly applied. The extended evaporation meth...

Efficient water use and intelligent water management are essential for sustainable agricultural production. Long-term soil hydrological measurements were used to quantify deep drainage rates and nitrate losses from arable land managed under various farming regimes (integrated, integrated with irrigation, ecologic and low input) and tillage systems...

Zusammenfassung In Lysimeterversuchen mit unterschiedlichen Energie-pflanzen (Sonnenblumen, Helianthus annuus; Steinklee, Melilotus offi cinalis; Zuckerhirse, Sorghum bicolor) sowie hohen und tiefen Grundwasserständen wurde der Einfl uss einer Beimpfung mit einem kommerziellen Mykorrhizapräparat auf Wassereffi zienz und Biomasse-bildung dieser Pfl...

Methods of visual soil structure examination enable semi-quantitative information on the morphological and functional status of soil for use in extension, monitoring, modeling, and research. Type and size of aggregates and number and size of biogenic pores are reliable criteria. Illustrated methods like the updated Peerlkamp method (Ball et al., 20...

In agriculture, soil management for plant production is provided by the use of efficient machinery. Many operations like tillage, fertilization, or harvesting require the application of tractors or other self-propelled and/or load-bearing machinery. Trafficability is a capability of land to provide field traffic operations without degradation of th...

The development and survival or disappearance of civilizations has been based on the performance of soils to provide food, fibre, and further essential goods for humans. Amongst soil functions, the capacity to produce plant biomass (productivity function) remains essential. This function is closely associated with the main global issues of the 21st...

The development and survival or disappearance of civilizations has been based on the performance of soils to provide food, fibre, and further essential goods for humans. Amongst soil functions, the capacity to produce plant biomass (productivity function) remains essential. This function is closely associated with the main global issues of the 21st...

Knowledge of hydraulic functions is required for various hydrological and plant-physiological studies. The evaporation method is frequently used for the simultaneous determination of hydraulic functions of unsaturated soil samples, i.e., the water-retention curve and hydraulic-conductivity function. All methodic variants of the evaporation method s...

The paper presents a data base of soil physical and hydrological properties of North East and North Central German soils. Included are measured data of the soil water retention curve and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function. Information on geo-reference, soil type and horizon are given. Soil hydraulic functions were measured with the eva...

The evaporation method is frequently used for simultaneous determination of soil water retention and hydraulic conductivity relationships. Tension is measured at two depths within a short soil column as water evaporates from its surface. Water content and flux are determined by weighing the column. Tensions, water contents, and fluxes are used to d...

The paper presents a data base of soil hydrological properties of North East and Central German soils. Included are measured data of the soil water retention curve and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function. Information to geo reference, soil type and horizon are given. Additional soil physical data like particle size distribution, dry bul...

Long-term soil hydrological measurements were used to quantify deep seepage and nitrate leaching in situ under undisturbed soil conditions. Deep seepage rates and nitrate losses from arable land managed under various farming regimes (integrated, integrated with irrigation, ecologic and low input) and tillage systems (plough and no-till) were quanti...

The aim of the paper was to utilize methods of visual structure assessments in conjunction with soil physical measurements for the analysis of the impact of tillage, rotation and traffic on topsoil structure. The study was conducted in long-term-experiments on the Elora rotation (ER) and Elora Landscape (EL) sites in Canada, the Luancheng (LS) site...

Visual observations of soil structure in the field offer the potential of semi-quantitative information for use in extension and monitoring. The aim of the study was to test the diagnostic value of different visual methods of soil structure assessment in relation to measurements of topsoil physical quality and yield of cereals.Visual methods that e...

Starting in 1993, interactions between land use and precipitation have been investigated in three research areas of northeast Germany. The research based on continuous measurements of soil water tension and water content down to a depth of 5 m at 36 plots situated at diverse soils under different land use (arable land, forest, grass fallow). At ara...

Aim of the study was the evaluation of the present state and further development of drought risk to agricultural sites in Northeast (NE) and Central Germany in consideration of climate changes. Based on the Medium Scale Agricultural Site Map, soil-hydrological data were derived for heterogeneous soil areas. They refer to the landscapes in NE and Ce...

The objective of the paper was to analyse the implications of the origin of peat (muck) soil substrate, the current type of land use and the state of anthropogenic soil development for the topsoil properties of fens. Chemical and biological properties of peat soils of the Rhin-Havelluch lowland and the Uckermark rural landscape were analyzed. The u...

The aim of the study was to analyse aspects of fen soil quality for grassland use with regard to the different topsoil structure and their status of earthification/moorshification (degradation). Fifty fens of different origin, structural status and land use intensity were sampled, analysed and scored by different methods: Visual Soil Assessment, Pe...

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of peat soil substrate governed by the hydrological type of mire, land use and state of anthropogenic changes on the fen soil structure in terms of the water retention curve, soil aggregates and topsoil strength. Our hypothesis was that morphological parameters of the peat soil landscape, like pea...

The influence of regional soil distribution and land use on discharge formation in the “Stettiner Haff” catchment (8,456 km) was investigated. The model ABIMO was used to calculate mean discharge for a long period (1961 – 1990) in consideration of regional differences in hydrological site conditions and soil heterogeneity. The highest discharge was...

Since about 25 years, we have measured the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function and water retention curve with the evaporation method of more than 1500 mineral and organic soils samples. From this data base, 104 representative samples of varying texture and dry bulk density were selected and the temporal dynamics of the basic measured values...

This study derives grassland communities from site, climate and land use characteristics, allowing yield estimation within the framework of model scenarios. Based on the dominant species, about 450 relevés, primarily of extensively used grassland from four regions of the North-East German lowlands, were classified into vegetation types using a clus...

The study investigated evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) on sites of shallow water tables. This contribution was aimed to provide data for soil water modeling and water management planning. Based on a long-term study of groundwater lysimeters in the vicinity of Berlin, Germany, the total ET, the proportion of ground water suppl...

The virtual lysimeter concept was tested in comparison with a real lysimeter and found to be suitable for quantifying effective deep seepage dynamics in sandy soils. Discharge measurements and calculation results agreed well. Preconditions are accurate water content and tension measurements with high temporal resolution below the zero flux plane an...

Methodological developments and findings are presented on the quantification of the water balance of soils in the North-East German Lowland. The unsaturated hydraulic conductivity and the water retention function of representative soils are measured by means of the evaporation method. From these findings typical hydraulic conductivity and water ret...

Spatial structure of the soil landscape and some process-relevant topsoil parameters were analysed on two Holocene lowland sites: The river lowland site Seelow located in the upper Oderbruch region, and the fen peatland site Ziethenhorst, located in the upper Rhinluch region.Along typical transects the thickness of the holocene clay and the peat la...

Investigations at 84 fen (FAO: Terric Histosol) sites of 19 fen regions in Northeast Germany were carried out to study the change of soil hydrological properties of peat soils in the course of soil development. Besides ash content, unit water content and dry bulk density, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, the capillary rise, the water retenti...

Tillage causes changes to soil structure, and if the soil is too wet when tillage is performed, the change to the soil structure will be detrimental. A methodology that could be used for estimating the maximum gravimetric soil water content for optimum tillage would be helpful to prevent soil structural damage. The objective of this study was to co...

To investigate the changes of hydrological properties of peat soil in course of soil development, field measurements at 84 fen sites (Histosols) in 19 fen regions of North-East Germany were carried out. Capillary water supply at all the stages of soil development was not limited up to 70 cm of ground water level. Worsening of plant water supply was...

This study deals with the change and evaluation of hydrological properties of peat soils (Histosols) in the course of soil development. Ash content, volumetric water content, and dry bulk density, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water retention function, and wetting properties were measured for 84 fen sites in 19 fen regions of North-Eastern Ge...

The 250th anniversary of the completion the new Oder Channel, the current main Oder River, provides an opportunity to consider land use changes in the Oderbruch region. Old maps and other sources indicate three regions of differing land use during the middle of the 18th century. In the southern part arable land use was already dominant, the central...

On sandy Pleistocene sites the variability of springtime soil moisture content (field capacity) and mineral nitrogen in pore water were analysed down to 4.2 m depth under different land use systems. The average of the field capacity was about 10 cm ³ /100 cm ³ . Their large site-specific variability (variation coefficients of 26-63%) is mainly due...

The efficiency and acceptance for soil conservation management is not very high and therefore not a guarantee for sustainable land use and soil functionality or quality. The best method for increasing acceptance is a regional soil indicator system evaluating the state of soil quality and the pressure due to land use. The results form the basis to e...

An agglomeration of site properties was carried out for the evaluation and the comparison of heterogeneous area soil data based on a site-specific concept. Typical substrate sequences for pleistocene, alluvial, organic, eolian sediments as well as weathering soils were determined. Water retention and hydraulic conductivity functions were derived fo...

Auf repräsentativen Böden grundwasserbeeinflußter Niederungen wurden Verdunstungsraten und Effektivität der Nutzung von Wasser und Stickstoff (N) durch ausgewählte Fruchtarten in Lysimetern geprüft. Ziel war die Präzisierung von Modellannahmen für die Wasser‐ und Stoffbilanz unter grundwassernahen Bedingungen. Die Verdunstungsraten erreichten im Mi...

Nährstoff‐ und Wasserbilanzen unterschiedlicher hydromorpher Böden wurden bei Gras‐ und Maisnutzung mittels Grundwasserlysimetern geprüft. Die Kalium‐, Stickstoff‐ und Phosphorbilanzen waren besonders von den Ernteentzügen geprägt. Gras entzog dem Boden wesentlich mehr Nährstoffe als Mais, obwohl der Mais höhere Erträge lieferte. Die Böden mit den...

The efficiency and acceptance for erosion and compaction control management is not high and therefore not a guarantee for sustainable land use and soil functionality. The best method for increasing acceptance is a regional soil indicator system combined with an environmental indicator system (McRae et al. 2000). Like the concept of “critical load i...

The objective of this study was to determine soil properties, limiting site deficiencies for agricultural production and degradation risks of some major soil groups of Bulgaria. Vertisols, Planosols, Chernozems and Luvisols were characterised based on soil analyses. Temporal waterlogging in combination with water erosion, soil compaction and chemic...

Flußniederungen und Niedermoorgebiete sind produktive aber sensible Standorte der Agrarproduktion. Der Bodenschutz dieser Standorte setzt Kenntnisse der relativ dynamisch ablaufenden Bodenprozesse voraus.Niedermoorböden und tonreiche Böden der Flußlandschaften reagieren vor allem auf mittel‐ und langfristige Störungen des Wasserregimes empfindlich....

The objective of this study was (i) to quantify the workability of soils as a function of the soil moisture status, and (ii) to derive moisture related threshold values of workability for modelling purposes.On two sites with clay contents of 18% (sandy clay loam) and 53% (clay) located in a Holocene landscape near Berlin, soil moisture parameters w...

In Oct. 1988, a degraded 20 ha, shallow peat site located in the Upper Rhinluch region was deep-ploughed and transformed into a Deep-Plough-Sand-Covering-Site (DPSC). The resulting changes in site dynamics and development are presented for the period 1988 to 1998. The results suggest that deep-ploughing positively influenced the physical and hydrol...

Für die Simulation des Wasserhaushaltes im Einzugsgebiet des Stöbber wurden Modellböden erarbeitet. Dazu wurden die im Untersuchungsgebiet vorkommenden Bodenformen zusammengestellt und typische Bodenprofile nach Substrat, Horizontabfolge und ‐mächtigkeit definiert. Die Horizonte wurden mit bodenphysikalischen Parametern belegt. Einerseits wurden ge...

Studies on deep seepage were carried out on sandy and loamy soils in north‐east Germany based on tension and water content measurements.Downward water movement with a unit hydraulic gradient occurred only in sand beneath 2 m soil depth, whereas upward and downward water movements alternated in loamy soils. The temporal fluctuations of tension and w...

Der Artikel informiert über die Ergebnisse der 3. Agricultural Engineering Conference in Pune, Indien. Ausgehend von den demographischen, sozioökonomischen und naturräumlichen Rahmenbedingungen wird die Leistung der indischen Landwirtschaft analysiert. Ziele der Bodennutzung und Probleme der Bodendegradation werden diskutiert. Das Konzept und erste...

Adapting soil engaging operations to the soil moisture status may limit damage of the soil structure or degradation processes. This requires the quantification of soil trafficability in dependence on soil hydrological conditions. The aim was to test the relevance of topsoil parameters in relation to trafficability and to study their temporal variab...