The focus of the Earth Observation lab is on developing and applying remote sensing methods to better understand global change related to land systems. We map land cover and land use and related spatio-temporal change patterns. Applications extend from agriculture (both cropland and grassland), over forest ecosystems to urban areas. The analysis of long and dense time series from Landsat and Sentinel data is core for our research - from landscape to continental scales. Hyperspectral image …

The grain size composition can be determined with a laser diffractometer from Beckman-Coulter. The laser particle analyzer LS 13320 simultaneously measures the range from 2 mm to 40 nm. The laser particle analyzer uses the different light scattering of particles of different sizes.
We also perform particle size determinations for external customers. If you are interested and have any questions, please contact the laboratory manager

In the geochemical laboratory, individual chemical parameters of the soil samples are investigated. Element determination is done using ICP-OES. Among other things, there are determined:
1) the pH values with the glass electrode,
2) the lime content with the Scheibler apparatus,
3) the conductivity of the soil,
4) the cation exchange capacity (abbreviation: KAK, T-value), and
5) the mass of the organic fraction of a sample by measuring the ignition loss in the muffle furnace.

In this laboratory, the soil samples are pre-spread, weighed and their grain size determined. The particle size composition can be determined by sieving. For this purpose, sieves with increasing mesh sizes are placed one above the other on a vibrating screening machine, starting with the lower collecting plate for the finest particles. The sieves are set in vertical oscillation by an electromagnetic drive. This results in an even distribution of the sieved material over the meshes. Mass …

Soil samples collected in the study area are placed in a plastic bag on site, sealed and labelled with a unique sample label. After sample storage, some pre-treatments have to be carried out before the physico-chemical investigation. Pre-treatment includes sample splitting, drying, sieving (< 2 mm for fine soil, see Soil Laboratory - Particle Size Analysis) and digestion. The sample is divided by a riffle divider or by quartering to the desired quantity. The samples are either dried in air …