The BUEK3000 is prepared by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) for the National Atlas of Germany. Based on the generalized and aggregated soil map 1:2,000,000, it shows 43 mapping units with information about soil texture, parent material, dominant and associated soils.

The BUEK2000 Version 1.0 was compiled from the BÜK1000 map by a process of generalization. The number of soil mapping units in the legend was reduced from 72 to 60 by aggregation of those units showing similar dominamt soils into single units. The map combined with selected soil profile pictures/graphics and information about soil history, soil classification and soil mapping in Germany is one fundamental part of the Hydrolocical Atlas of Germany (HAD). The Version 2.0, based on the BUEK2000N, Version 2.3, was cartographically adapted to a new base map.

The presented map at scale 1:5,000,000 shows the distribution of 15 soil parent material groups in Germany with polygons of at least 64 square kilometers. Parent material is the rock, from which soil is formed. It was derived from the landuse use stratified soil map of Germany at scale 1:1,000,000. The version 3.0 of the map is based on the Digital Landscape Model 1:1,000,000 (DLM1000) of the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy.

The map of the available water holding capacity in Germany gives an overview of the amount of water in a soil that is normally available for plant growth. The map shows the available water from the surface to effective rooting depth, which is derived from land use and soli data. The method is published in the Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung KA4 (1994) and in the documentation of Ad-hoc-AG Boden (representing the soil experts of the geological services of the German federal states). The land use information is taken from the CORINE Land Cover data set (2006).

The map Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany 1:1,000,000 highlights the results of a Germany-wide compilation of typical soil organic matter contents in top-soils differentiated according to 15 groups of soil parent material, four climatic areas and the main land use. The evaluation is based on more than 9000 soil data profiles with information about Soil Organic Matter (SOM) from a period of about 20 years. The report 'The Organic Matter Content of Top-Soils in Germany', BGR Archiv, No. 0127036 (in German) documents the methodology. The classes of the map legend are based on the classes given in the German Soil Mapping Guideline, 5th Edition (KA5).

The BUEK5000 is derived form the landuse stratified soil map of Germany at scale 1:1,000,000 by aggregation, focused on information about the parent material, and generalization. The maps shows 20 soil (23) legend units with polygons of at least 64 square kilometers.

Nation-wide land use strategies and planning as well as soil protection require harmonised and standardised area-covering information. Such data is provided by the digital Soil Map of Germany at scale 1:200,000 (BUEK200). The pedological data of this map, stored in a relational database, is used to demonstrate the abundance and the associations of soils and their basic properties in Germany. However, the main purpose of the BUEK200 is to offer a database which allows the estimation and visualisation of soil functions, soil potentials and soil hazards. To achieve comparable soil information throughout Germany the BGR and the soil surveys of the federal lands have elaborated and defined BUEK200 standards concerning the map (e.g. delineation and description of mapping units) and its database (e.g. database model, parameters, codification).

Which salt formations are suitable for storing hydrogen or compressed air? In the InSpEE-DS research project, scientists developed requirements and criteria for the assessment of suitable sites even if their exploration is still at an early stage and there is little knowledge of the salinaries’ structures. Scientists at DEEP.KBB GmbH in Hanover, worked together with their project partners at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and the Leibniz University Hanover, Institute for Geotechnics Hanover, to develop the planning basis for the site selection and for the construction of storage caverns in flat layered salt and multiple or double saliniferous formations. Such caverns could store renewable energy in the form of hydrogen or compressed air. While the previous project InSpEE was limited to salt formations of great thickness in Northern Germany, salt horizons of different ages have now been examined all over Germany. To estimate the potential, depth contour maps of the top and the base as well as thickness maps of the respective stratigraphic units and reference profiles were developed. Information on compressed air and hydrogen storage potential were given for the identified areas and for the individual federal states. The web service "Information system for flat layered salt" gives access to this data. The scale of display is limited to a minimum of 1:300.000. This geographic information is product of a BMWi-funded research project "InSpEE-DS" running from the year 2015 to 2019. The acronym stands for "Information system salt: planning basis, selection criteria and estimation of the potential for the construction of salt caverns for the storage of renewable energies (hydrogen and compressed air) - double saline and flat salt layers".

The Potential Wind Erosion Risk map gives an overview of the exposure of arable soils to soil loss due to deflation in Germany. It is based on pedological and climatic factors. The method to predict the soil erosion risk is published in the DIN 19706:2002 and in the documentation of Ad-hoc-AG Boden (representing the soil experts of the geological services of the German federal states). For the application with soil maps, the method was adapted by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).The land use stratified soil map of Germany at scale 1:1,000,000 was used as pedological input to the model. The mean annual wind speed at 10 meters above ground level of the period 1980-2000 (DWD) is used as well. The land use information is derived from CORINE land cover data set (2006).

The map of the soil depth gives an overview of the rooting capacity of German soils. The soil depth is derived from profile data of the landuse stratified soil map of Germany at scale 1:1,000,000. The lower limit of a soil is bedrock or a groundwater influenced horizon. The method is derived from Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung KA5 (2005) and is documented in the MethodenWIKI of the FISBo BGR. The land use information is derived from the CORINE Land Cover data set (2006).