Institute of

WO Forest Ecosystems

The National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI)

Brown earth hillside soil from Rhineland-Palatinate — Rendzic Leptosol from Rhineland-Palatinate

The National Forest Soil Inventory (NFSI) enables nationwide and science-based statements about the condition and changes in our forest soils. The third NFSI is a central component of environmental forest monitoring in Germany. Soil, stand and vegetation data will be collected on an 8 x 8 km grid at 1900 sampling points over the next 3 years.

In addition to the state of the soil, the NFSI also examines vegetation, tree stocks and the nutritional status of the forests using standardized methods. It takes place about every 15 years and is a joint project of the federal government and state authorities. The federal states collect the data, the Thünen Institute of Forest Ecosystems coordinates the NFSI and evaluates the nationwide data. The field assessment of the first and second inventory took place from 1987 to 1992 and 2006 to 2008, respectively. Recently, the third inventory has started.

After several years of laboratory analyzes and evaluations, the results will be published in 2028 in the federal report on the third NFSI.

A sub-sample of 400 plots is part of ICP Forests (16x16 km grid). At the same time, these are sample points of the forest condition survey (WZE). The NFSI uses cross-nationally harmonized methods for sampling and analysis, which are published in a working manual (see Publications and Downloads).

Objectives

The third NFSI will provide reliable, area-representative and nationally comparable contributions to the following questions:

Sustainable forest management, e.g. the creation of a comprehensive map of nutrient availability and locations worth liming, derivation of the choice of tree species based on soil types, effects of forest conversion on soil biodiversity, assessment of quality and quantity of drinking and groundwater
Changes in soil properties in the period between the first, second and third surveys
Cause and effect between environmental influences and forest condition
Carbon storage and water balance
Impact of climate change and other environmental factors on soil condition
Risk assessment and derivation of measures, e.g. derivation of critical limits for malnutrition, clean air measures with regard to nitrogen inputs, calculation of heavy metal values
Decisive information about the nutrient situation and the pollution of the forest soil.

Time schedule

The inventory is conducted from 2022 to 2024 and covers around 1900 plots all over Germany. This is followed by several years of laboratory analyzes and evaluations. The results will be published in the federal report on the third NFSI in 2028.

About the first and second NFSI

In the course of the forest damage discussion, a nationwide soil condition survey was established in addition to crown condition monitoring at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s.

The outdoor recordings of the first NFSI took place from 1989 to 1992. The results are summarized in the first federal report (1996).

The second NFSI was collected from 2006 to 2008. It was now possible for the first time to obtain an area-representative overview of changes in the condition of the forest soil over a period of around 15 years. The range of investigations was significantly expanded and a field manual was agreed upon between the federal and state governments in advance. The report on the second NFSI was published in 2016.

Please find the results and manuals under Publications and Downloads.

Publications and Downloads

Download Field Manual on BZE III (Thünen Working Paper 195) Juli 2022

Deutscher Waldbodenbericht Band 1 (Download)
Deutscher Waldbodenbericht Band 2 (Download)
Ergebnisse als Inspire-konforme Daten

The publications of the federal states on the first and second NFSI can be found on the website of the federal-state working group on environmental monitoring forest.

Further links

Federal ministry of food and agriculture: National forest soil survey (in German language only)
Federal states activities on National forest soil survey (in German language only)

Projects

Sampling of humus layer and topsoil according to the methodology of the National Forest Soil Inventory in three Saxon test areas.

RAVESA I - Sampling based survey of the soil conditions of forest sites

Development of a method to estimate the condition of forest soil properties by a sampling based survey and by regionalisation.

Humus recordings on transects in Saxon forests.

RAVESA II - method to estimate the condition of forest soil properties of waterlogged soils

Development of a method to estimate the condition of forest soil properties of waterlogged soils

Dead biomass, such as leaf litter, accumulates carbon in forest soils, which is broken down and converted by chemical and biological processes, allowing it to be bound in the short to long term.

Soil Carbon in Forest Soils

Organic carbon stocks and their changes in forest soils

Taking samples of the organic layer using a sampling cylinder on one of the 8 satellites of the National Forest Soil Inventory.

National Forest Soil Inventory in Germany - Data quality and data management

National Forest Soil Inventory in Germany – Data harmonization, evaluation and quality management

National Forest Soil Inventory

The BZE characterises the condition of forest soils, identifies changes in forest condition since the first inventory and answers any new research questions, e.g., about carbon inventory.

Various structures such as protruding bark pockets, tree hollows, hollow cavities and fungal consoles can be seen on a tree trunk.

Harmonized stand inventory on National Soil Inventory: stand structure, dead wood and biodiversity

Soil characteristics and forest conditions are direct associated. With the harmonized stand inventory standardized information of forest growth, deadwood and forest regeneration are collected for the first time on Soil Inventory Plots in Germany.

A dead beech tree lies in a beech forest (Grumsiner primeval forest).

Carbon and nutrient storage of forest sites

Carbon and nutrient storage of forest sites within the forest monitoring (BZE) of Rhineland-Palatinate

Validation of the national modelling of critical loads

In this project, denitrification and the weathering were evaluated in terms of the critical loads calculation basis.

Validation of the national modelling of critical loads

In this project, denitrification and the weathering were evaluated in terms of the critical loads calculation basis.

Measuring point with trenching for analysis of soil respiration without root respiration of the trees, Ore Mountains, Saxony

Holistic management practices, modelling and monitoring for European forest soils

Improve and harmonize methods for estimating soil carbon and nitrogen stocks and fluxes in relation to forest management practices, land use history, and their influence on greenhouse gas balance in Europe.

BBZE- Forest

Development of a method to estimate the condition of forest soil properties by a sampling based survey and by regionalisation.

ESP Secretariat

Since 2021, the ESP Secretariat is hosted at the Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries (Thuenen Institute, Germany). The European Soil Partnership is part of a global network of eight regional soil partnerships.

Scattering and deposition meters on the investigation area of the Integrated Monitoring Program at Stechlinsee, Neuglobsow (Brandenburg).

Continuation of the Integrated Monitoring Program at the Neuglobsow Station (Brandenburg)

The "Integrated Monitoring" (ICP-IM) is an international cooperative program under the Geneva Air Quality Convention that examines the effects of long-range transported air pollutants on ecosystems across multiple locations in Europe. Since June ...

KI-Soil

The KI-SOIL project automates the recording and analysis of forest soil properties to make forest site mapping more efficient and precise. Through the use of innovative technologies, time and personnel expenditure are reduced and uncertainty in soil ...