Ossenbach. A unique course in France, dedicated to soil sciences

While he was a professor of geophysics and biology at the University of University of Strasbourg Dominic Schwartz loved field trips with his students. It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to find suitable places for the joint study of geology, geomorphology and biology (soil science, Editor’s note ), believing that you would never be better served, created the Soil Road.

“Osenbach stood out, not just because I live there, but because we find sandstone, limestone and granite soils there, in a variety of landscapes that are largely concentrated among forests, vineyards, meadows and fields,” he jokes.

What is soil?

Julie Mahler, the student responsible for the feasibility study, had to respect strict specifications, which required her, among other things, the now-retired to remember: “not to add a route to the existing route, avoid environmentally sensitive areas, and improve the sides.” Link it to the group’s management (parking lots, in particular), and make this path a tool for local development. »

The Soil Track was inaugurated in 2009 during an international conference on the study of…soils. Since then, it has attracted a hard-to-measure crowd of people from the village eager to know their environment better, naturalists, school children, and professionals. Throughout the 5.5 kilometre-long journey, 40 incredibly dense and informative panels reveal the riches of the 13 soil types that make up the route (eight of which are indigenous or purely local, and five imported from other Alsatian sites such as Hardt Rouge or Ried). From the second panel, we learn more precisely what the Earth is: the surface on which we walk or have walked, the surface that has the properties of volume, the size of the Earth, as well as a complex and lively world, which Walker is invited to explore in greater or less depth during his visit.

Several levels of reading

Less curious people can complete the (rather hilly) route in just under two hours. Those looking for experience are well served and can spend the day educating themselves. “There are several levels of reading, which are distinguished by a color code,” emphasizes Dominik Schwarz. Six of the panels contain labels with very general explanations, and another thirteen are accompanied by monoliths (also called peelings). They consist of sections of soil approximately sixty centimeters deep, under glass, accompanied by numerous explanations such as their common and scientific names, morphological characteristics, uses, and even laboratory test results. Eleven panels present the basics of science and a further twelve make very specific points about erosion or local agricultural history, for example. These latest “poster boards” correspond to “sophomore degree level,” notes the emeritus professor, who compares the floor(s) to an engine: “You have to know all its parts to understand how it works.”

going to The soil track is located opposite the campsite on Rue du Stade in Osenbach.