Soil Day-out at Gfoehl, June 2009

Landesrat of Environmental Affairs, Dr. Stephan Pernkopf: "Soil is the base of our lives. More than 90 % of the food stem from our soil. It is a matter of sensibly using and carefully protecting this soil."

Careful use of the resource of soil yields manifold returns.
Thus a profound fertility of soil creates better preconditions for cultivating agriculture and for our food security.

A balanced water supply provides for advantages and cost reduction in flood protection.
Living soils essentially contribute to an improvement of the climate balance.
Carbon sequestration in soils is about twice as high as in the atmosphere and three times as much as in vegetation. The soils in Europe contain huge amounts of carbon (about 75 billions of tons), and serious consequences may ensue from unprofessional soil cultivation.

First Lower Austrian member municipality of the European Land and Soil Alliance organizes day out.

Since 2003, Gfoehl has been the first Lower Austrian member of the European Land and Soil Alliance. On a soil day out there was a various program for schools and adults. A few hundred guests gathered information at workshops and information stands. The "soil balance" of the municipality of Gfoehl was presented as well.

In representation of Provincial Governor Landeshauptmann Dr. Erwin Proell, Landesrat for Environmental Affairs, Dr. Stephan Pernkopf handed over the prizes to the winners of the school competition "Painting with the Colours of the Earth".

In the afternoon, the first Lower Austrian soil walk took place. Under expert leadership, on a route through the municipal area the history of the soil and landscape of the municipality of Gfoehl was studied by walking.

Pernkopf: „In the long run, it is a matter of area-wide soil protection, a quantitative protection of the best agricultural soils, and a well-aimed humus management as the key to soil fertility and soil protection."

The participants were able to experience soil from a somewhat different perspective at the stands of the Environmental Counselors (Umweltberatung), Bioforschung Austria, Vermigrand and the Department of Rural Development.

Dr. Walter Wenzel from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna presented the municipal soil balance of Gfoehl, and Dr. Michael Pollak of wpa presented the first soil walk.

After having a meal from the buffet „Gfoehl tastes like this", the first soil walk took place through the municipal area of Gfoehl.

Contact for further information: Lower Austrian Provincial Government, Department of Rural Development,

Dr. Erwin Szlezak, e-mail: info@unserboden.at, soil phone: +43 (0)2742/9005 ext. 9070