Ground maps (BK) and digital information systems

Soils are natural bodies, high-quality landscape components and livelihoods for humans, animals and plants. Healthy soils supply food and renewable raw materials, they store part of the precipitation water and protect the groundwater and surface water by their filtration capacity against pollutants. Numerous employees of the Geological Service NRW (GD NRW) have been exploring, recording and classifying the soils of the state of NRW for years. They work according to uniform guidelines on the basis of the latest ground-based knowledge and objectively evaluate all factual information. The soils are examined up to 2 m depth or up to the top of the solid rock and summarised in analogue and digital maps of different scales to ground units. The map legend contains indications for each floor unit about the soil type layering (e.g. clay lock over gravel sand), soil types (e.g. brown earth, podsol or Gley) and the starting geological rock (e.g. Mergelstein, Oberkriede). For large-scale cards (1: 5 000) each excluded floor area is described individually, similar soils are combined in the legend into one unit. Soil maps not only form an indispensable basis for agricultural and forestry planning, they are also an important basis for sustainable land use and spatial planning, as well as for soil, natural and groundwater protection. The following ground maps are available for NRW in analog form: — Ground maps of NRW 1: 5 000 — Ground maps of NRW 1: 25 000 — Ground maps of NRW 1: 50 000 — Floor overview cards 1: 200 000 For NRW, the GD NRW offers ground-based maps not only in printed form, but also as modern, digital information systems. These digital maps are mainly available in shape format and function as powerful information systems through connected specialist databases: — Information system ground map of NRW 1: 5 000 — Information system ground map of NRW 1: 50 000 The following CD-ROMs are also available with special focus topics: — Risk of erosion and sludge in NRW — Mechanical load capacity of the floors in NRW — Information system BK50 — Map of soils worthy of protection — Soils on the Lower Rhine