Water storage capacity of the soil

The criterion ‘water storage capacity of the soil’ is used for the evaluation of the soil sub-function ‘Containing part of the water cycle habitat’. Soils absorb precipitation water and store it in their soil pores. Thus, they have a significant impact on the water balance. A high water storage capacity characterises soils as particularly worthy of protection. The “water storage capacity” is evaluated by assessing the usable field capacity of the potential root space up to a depth of up to 1.5 meters. The key data for this are: Soil type of fine soil, coarse soil proportions, rooting depth, usable field capacity, soil density and soil humus content. Mapping data (guide profile data) of the FIS Boden of the Free State of Saxony are used for the derivation of water storage assets. Soils with high slope inclination receive rating tees. The assessment does not directly assess the terrain position and climatic location conditions, although these are relevant for water storage capacity.