Average Annual Rate of Leachate from the Soil (HAD): Grid-Based Map

Average annual rate of leachate from the soil (HAD) is a grid-based geospatial dataset from the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie. It provides a map of leachate rates calculated at a scale of 1:2,000,000, classifying areas with low rates up to 200 mm/a in 50 mm/a intervals and high rates in 500 mm/a classes. The dataset excludes sealed urban areas, mining sites, and largely vegetation-free zones like rocks and permanent snow.

Use Cases

• Model groundwater recharge potential based on mapped leachate rates.
• Assess regional soil water balance for agricultural or environmental planning based on the classified leachate intervals.
• Identify areas with high or low annual leachate for hydrological studies based on the 500 mm/a and 50 mm/a class spans.
• Exclude anthropogenic and sealed surfaces from natural hydrological analyses based on the described data exclusions.

Strengths

• Data is calculated and represented on a grid, which suggests a consistent spatial structure.
• Classification scheme is detailed, with intervals of 50 mm/a for low rates and 500 mm/a for high rates.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie

Collection Method

Grid-based calculation from precipitation data and a use-differentiated soil map.

Geography

Likely covers regions within the data provider's jurisdiction, potentially European low mountain ranges and other areas.