Projekt

The valley of the Mashavera River, about 100 km south of the capital Tbilisi, is an area with very fertile soils of more than 300 km2 in size. Cereals, vegetables and fruits are grown for the conurbations of Eastern Georgia under irrigation due to the aridity of the climate in Eastern Georgia. The river water used for irrigation is polluted with mining waste from a Cu and gold mine in the mountainous region of the middle reaches of the Mashavera River. Furthermore, wastewater from a floatation plant, erosion material from floatation waste deposits, and acid mine drainage has led to high concentrations of dissolved and suspended sulfidic heavy metals (HM). The proposed cooperation project aims at a detailed investigation of the mechanisms and the extent of the transfer of HM from weakly alkaline soils into the food chain. Furthermore, the suitability and effectiveness of a remediation strategy will be tested in field and greenhouse experiments, and the effect of the HM pollution and the remediation on the sensitive habitat function of soils will be evaluated on the basis of microbiological investigations. The project intends to transfer knowledge as well as important impulses for the introduction of environmental standards for soil conservation and food hygiene in Georgia.

• Prof. Dr. Peter Felix-Henningsen

  Universität Gießen
  Institut für Bodenkunde und Bodenerhaltung
  Gießen
  

• Prof. Dr. Sylvia Schnell

  Universität Gießen
  Institut für Angewandte Mikrobiologie
  Giessen
  

• Prof. Dr. Diedrich Steffens

  Universität Gießen
  Institut für Pflanzenernährung
  Giessen
  

• Prof. Dr. Besik Kalandadze

  I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi
  State University
  Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences
  Department of Geography
  Tbilisi
  Georgien
  

• Prof. Dr. Tengiz Urushadze

  I. Javakhishvili Tbilisi
  State University
  Insitute of Geography
  Tbilisi
  Georgien