Water Balance

Water balance of recultivation layers

This research project deals with characters and water balance of recultivation layers in waste dump surface sealing systems. Optimized recultivation layers as functional components of landfill cover systems should minimize the runoff (leakage) by means of natural evaporation. In preceding projects two large lysimeter fields were constructed on the Kreismülldeponie Leonberg (Landkreis Böblingen) and planted with trees. The only difference between the two lysimeter fields is the manner of the installation of the recultivation layers. In the first field the soil installed was not compacted, whereas in the second field it was compacted in three tiers. Employing this experimental set-up, the water balances of the two different recultivation layers as well as the most important factors influencing it can be ascertained and compared from the outset. The observation of water regimes only makes sense over longer periods. Therefore the test field set-up was designed for long-term examinations. Now, in the transitory period between the previous projects and the establishment of dense grove stands on the lysimeter fields, the investigations are carried on in a reduced extent.

Targets

Targets of the project are to continue the examinations on the water regime and the development of site characters (soil, vegetation) to obtain data series without interruption from the outset of soil and vegetation development and to control and maintain the test field facility for long-term operations.

Working program

The working program includes the collecting of weather data, leakage rates and soil moisture values including backwater levels in the lysimeter fields as well as examinations of the vegetation development and the earthworm population.

First results

The results of the previous investigations prove the hypothesis that the non-compacted recultivation layer provides a beneficial site for plants and edaphon. The outcome of this are a higher evaporation and therefore lower leakage rates.

Annual reports are published at BWPLUS-Kolloquium.

Sponsored by 

	Land Baden-Württemberg Förderprojekt "Lebensgrundlage Umwelt und ihre Sicherung" (BWPLUS) BWD 21010 BWU 26004 BWU 11003
	Abfallwirtschaftsbetrieb Landkreis Böblingen

Partners

Universität Karlsruhe Institut für Bodenmechanik und Felsmechanik

Mai 2002 bis März 2004
September 2006 bis Dezember 2011
Januar 2012 bis Dezember 2014

Fed. State of Baden-Württemberg  (Programm BW-PLUS) andLandkreis Böblingen

Project supervisor

Prof. Dr. Werner Konold