Investigation of Spring Waters to Assess the Geo-ecological State of Landscape and Soil

"The purpose of the investigation was to assess the opportunity to use spring waters as indicator for the load state of rural landscape ecosystems. In the periods from 2000-2003 and 2011-2012, the physical and chemical water quality of 55 freshwater springs in the German federal state of the Saarland was investigated in monthly intervals. The catchment areas of the springs represented the prevailing geological formations in the Saarland as well as the main land use types such as forest, grassland and arable land. The results show a clear correlation between the nitrate content and the share of arable land in the closer catchment area of the springs. The problem of acidification and related processes occurs mainly at the sites with acid parent rock material and accordingly substrates deficient in lime. Very low pH-values between 4 and 5 are observed and the aluminum concentration levels are consistently increased. Especially at sites with low calcium content in the geological substrate, a progressive destruction of the clay minerals can be assumed. In the extremely acidic spring waters, which showed the highest aluminum contamination during the measurement 10 years ago, the aluminum-values decreased slightly. This indicates that the clay minerals in these locations are already completely destroyed. Thus, it can be concluded that the investigation of spring waters provides information on the geo-ecological conditions in catchment areas. By means of the multi-temporal approach, changes of land use or other influences by human activities can be detected."

(Quelle: Gero Weber & Jochen Kubiniok: Investigation of Spring Waters to Assess the Geo-ecological State of Landscape and Soil