Germany has around 33,000 cemeteries. The natural decay of the bodies results in the release of nutrients and pollutants in lower (and no longer bioactive) soil strata. This can lead to contamination of ground water, and to harmful effects on the air at ground level. One problem in traditional burial practice is that the assessment of soils with regard to its appropriateness for burial is insufficiently regulated. Hygienic guidelines specify a type of location which is pedologically ideal, but rarely available in the real world.
It is estimated that up to 60% of cemeteries have problems involving insufficient decomposition of coffins and corpses due to burials in unsuitable, often water-saturated grounds. The Institute for Plant Nutrition and Pedology of the Christian Albrechts University (Institut für Pflanzenernährung und Bodenkunde der Christian-Albrechts-Universität) in Kiel, Germany and the firm Cemterra GmbH of Münster, Germany analyzed the physical, biological and chemical soil characteristics, as well as the substrate transport, of cemetery spaces in 19 representative German cemeteries, in cooperation with cemetery operators.
Particular attention was paid to decay properties of soils and to their filtering- and buffering functions. This research produced alternative proposals for environment-friendly and healthier maintenance of cemetery land.
On the basis of the field and laboratory results, a set of directives - in the form of a checklist for ground burial -was generated. It can be downloaded at no cost as a pdf file via the electronic dissertation site “Eldiss” of the University at Kiel, at: http://eldiss.uni-kiel.de/macau/receive/dissertation_diss_00010234
