Use of FCC excavation material for planting substrates and artificial soils

The North Alpine Molasse Basin stretches north of the Alps from Geneva to Vienna. In large-scale construction projects, such as the construction of a future CERN underground experimental facility, e.g. the Future Circular Collider, large quantities of molasse excavation material are produced from a depth of 100-400 m, for which there are currently only limited reuse options. The project aims to transform geological excavation material into planting substrates and functional soils that are suitable for urban use, the design of biodiversity-promoting landscape elements, and for biomass production. Building on previous work on an observing station for constructed soils, the project will develop methods aimed at rapidly establishing soil functionalities, document and assess the emergence of soil functionality, and quantify the socio-economic as well as ecological implications of reuse.