Natural viability of the soil function map of Bavaria 1:25,000 (BFK25) for three project areas

Soils fulfil important functions in the natural environment. The Federal Soil Protection Act protects these valuable soil functions. Soil function maps evaluate the performance of soils in the natural environment. The assessment is based on soil maps (mostly overview soil maps i.M. 1:25,000) and other information on the environment and location. The area information is implemented by means of linking rules to assessments. Soils ensure our food supply. Intensive agriculture, however, requires a high energy effort and can cause environmental problems. On soils with a high natural yield capacity, environmentally friendly agriculture is most likely to be possible. The assessment of the natural viability of agricultural soils is based on the agricultural location map of the Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft (LfL). It takes geological, soil, vegetation and climatic conditions into account and indicates the suitability for use of arable and grassland sites in their different capacities. The map gives indications which locations are particularly suitable for agricultural use due to their high yield capacity. The soil function map “Natural profitability of agricultural soils” represents a soil protection analysis of the agricultural location map. Since the basic data of the soil function map are partly based on different topographical foundations, overlapping inaccuracies occur when comparing with current usage maps, especially at usage limits. Areas of less than 5 000 m² were added to neighbouring areas.