Prof. Dr. Wolfgang BURGHARDT, retired
Professional career: 1962certificate of farm apprenticeship, 1962-1966 studies of agricultural engineering and soil amelioration (University of Kiel, Germany), 1970 PhD on ‘Investigation of water infiltration capacity of desert soils of the Southern Highland of Jordan’ (University of Gießen, Germany),1994 habilitation on ‘Water household features of peat soil’ (University Duisburg-Essen, Germany),
Employment and research:
- 1967/1970 investigations on saline soils and desert soil quality for irrigation with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Hannover, Germany;
- 1970/1983applied research on problems of soil physics, soil water household and soil amelioration (drainage, deep loosening, deep plowing, liming) of marsh, sandy and peat soils at the Institute of Soil Technology Bremen, Germany, of the Lower Saxonia State Office for Soil Research;
- 1983/2005 professor for Soil Technology at the Institute of Ecology of the University of Duisburg - Essen, Germany, lectures about soil science and soil technology in courses of ecology and landscape architecture. Change of main research objectives to problems of soils of urban, industrial, traffic and mining areas.
- March 2005 official retirement. Continuation of urban soil research at the University Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Memberships and chairs:
- member of the Drainage Committee of the German Association of Water and Soil Amelioration Techniques (DVWK);
- member of Working Group Soil Science of the Geological State Offices and the Federal Office of Geo-Science and Resources of the Federal Republic of Germany for the establishment of the Soil Mapping Instruction, 3rd edition (1982), responsible for Peat and Anmoor soils;
- chair of professional group ‘Soil Techniques’ of the German Federal Soil Association;
- chair of Division 3 – Soil Use and Management of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS);
- chair of the task group sealing, soils of urban areas, land use and land use planning, and also responsible for the contribution to soil conservation services of the advisory group and working group research of the European Soil Thematic Strategy.
Establishment and chair of scientific organizations:
- 1987/2007 establishment and chair of the Working Group ‘Urban Soils (AKS)’ of the German Soil Science Society;
- 1998/2007 establishment and chair of the International Working Group on ‘Soils of Urban, Industrial, Traffic and Mining Areas (SUITMA/SU)’ of the International Union of Soil Science (IUSS);
- 1995 founding member of German Federal Soil Association;
Performance and chair of conferences and symposia: numerous national and international conferences and symposia about urban soils, soil fertility and productivity, storm water infiltration, soil heat.