Soil Development Following Disturbance Due to Explosive Munitions on the WWI Battlefield of Verdun, France
Joseph P. Hupy and Randall J. Schaetzl
Much research has been done on how the physical environment can
influence the outcome of battle, but few have studied the inverse: the effects
of warfare upon the environment. The goal of this research is to characterize
and help understand soil development within areas disturbed
by explosive munitions on the WWI battlefield of Verdun,
France (1916). Encompassing an area of 29,000 km2, the battlefield remains one
of the most heavily shelled of all time. Twenty-seven pedons
were sampled and described, at three sites on the battlefield; some pedons were within
artillery craters while others were on adjacent undisturbed
soils. Site selection reflected the diversity of bedrock and drainage
characteristics across the study area. Soil development was characterized
within the crater bottoms and sides. Many craters penetrated the shallow
limestone
bedrock, and blasted out fragments of limestone on nearby
undisturbed pedons had already been incorporated into
the profile. Despite the short period of time since the battle (88 years), measurable amounts of weathering and pedogenesis
has occurred in the soils within the craters. A major pedogenic process operative here is the accumulation and
decomposition of organic matter, which is intimately associated with (and aided
by) earthworm bioturbation. Based on elemental analysis of the fine earth
fraction, measurable amounts of leaching and weathering have occurred in the 88
years since the battle. This study provides insight into the ability of a
landscape to recover following a catastrophic anthropogenic disturbance..