Soil conditions of selected locations in the Gesäuse National Park

Diploma thesis at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Karl Franzens Universtät Graz Knowledge about the nature of the soil is the basic prerequisite for sustainable ecological land use by humans. The main focus of this work is the classification of soil types found on specific sites. Since a variety of different factors are involved in the genesis of the soil, it is also attempted to establish the link between the physiogeographic starting position and the current state of development. On the basis of numerous site visits and ground drilling carried out in the alpine, forest and valley areas, the identification and description of the different soil types and their characteristics is carried out. The dominant position of the limestone and dolomite rocks in the study area is also reflected in the individual soil types. For example, large parts of Rendzina, calcareous brown soils and brown loam predominate, whereby the transitions among the individual subtypes are often fluent. Gleye and Pseudogleye can be found in some slopes and at changing locations. The group of soils and moors complete the ecologically rich project area. In the area of land use, due to a structural change with the start of industrialisation, there have been major changes in traditional forms of farming. This is illustrated above all by the fact that former arable land in the Johnsbach Valley was converted into mowing meadows.