Among the highlights was this textbook example of a soil profile with clay migration: students could feel the striking texture contrast (around 15% increase in clay), observe clay coatings in the field, and we even found carbonates in the underlying Loess parent material. The dry conditions made the pale eluvial horizon particularly visible, now designated as El in the modernized KA6 classification. In contrast, the stronger colors and angular blocky structure of the Kt horizon further illustrated the accumulation of clay.

Beyond this profile, we explored other soils affected by stagnating water and advanced acidification, providing a glimpse into the diversity and complexity of soil-forming processes. We also found a buried B horizon showing how glaciers re-shaped the soil systems via Loess sedimentation even 100 km away from the terminal moraines in the Alpine foreland.

This year, I had the pleasure of organizing our field course, coordinating four student groups (60 students in total) and the contributing lecturers. Thanks for the rewarding experience and the enthusiastic student participation. Looking forward to the next field exercises in the coming weeks!
#SoilScience #Pedology #FieldTeaching #SoilProfiles #Geoscience #TUM #KA6 #TeachingInTheField 🌱