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Fig. 2. Location and outline of the Hondsrug area in the province of Drenthe and relative to the province of Groningen, within the scope of Europe- Netherlands. For soil remineralization, Hamaker and Weaver [9] recommended mineral fines from rock gravels, glacial moraine deposits, and hard silicate rock types, such as slower- weathering granites. All these examples are exhibited in the The main goal of this article is to practically assess the potential and feasibility of the geologically distinct boulder clay found in the Hondsrug area as a source for rock dust.

Figure 2 Location and outline of the Hondsrug area in the province of Drenthe and relative to the province of Groningen, within the scope of Europe- Netherlands. For soil remineralization, Hamaker and Weaver [9] recommended mineral fines from rock gravels, glacial moraine deposits, and hard silicate rock types, such as slower- weathering granites. All these examples are exhibited in the The main goal of this article is to practically assess the potential and feasibility of the geologically distinct boulder clay found in the Hondsrug area as a source for rock dust.

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Keywords: Crop Nutrition, Glacial Erratic Rocks, Nitrogen, Netherlands Agriculture, Rock Dust, Soil Remineralization. Fig. 1. Average nitrogen deposition in the Netherlands in 2018. Agriculture in the Netherlands is a major source of ammonia (NH3) emissions. Deposited nitrogen levels in the Netherlands reached 2-3 times their critical value at the start of 2020. Excess nitrogen in soil may cause declines in biodiversity and ecosystemic disequilibrium. This may lead to acidic and decalcified soils that are less capable of retaining nutrients. The mineral fines in rock dust are proven agents in soil remediation and remineralization. Glacial moraine deposits are a branded source of rock dust and are contained in the glacial till of the “Hondsrug” area, a boulder clay ridge in the northeastern Netherlands. Formerly, erratic rocks from this boulder clay served various practical purposes. The existing apparent inutility of these erratic rocks motivates us to review their potential as rock dust. Lack of chemical analyses on the in situ erratic rocks resorts to an evaluation of their inferred Fennoscandian source rocks which are of igneous and sedimentary lithology. The chemical composition of these inferred source rocks is compared with that of proven rock dust suppliers. It is concluded that even though there are compositional parallels between the rock dust, the Hondsrug area glacial till is comparatively decalcified and mineralogically of limited benefit. Moreover, exceptional magnitudes of erratic rocks are scarcely encountered while at the same time, the bulk is preserved as geological heritage. Despite the adversities, it could be chosen to commence trials with crushing idle erratic rocks in the Hondsrug area whenever this may be assessed as a useful supplement.
Keywords: Crop Nutrition, Glacial Erratic Rocks, Nitrogen, Netherlands Agriculture, Rock Dust, Soil Remineralization. Fig. 1. Average nitrogen deposition in the Netherlands in 2018. Agriculture in the Netherlands is a major source of ammonia (NH3) emissions. Deposited nitrogen levels in the Netherlands reached 2-3 times their critical value at the start of 2020. Excess nitrogen in soil may cause declines in biodiversity and ecosystemic disequilibrium. This may lead to acidic and decalcified soils that are less capable of retaining nutrients. The mineral fines in rock dust are proven agents in soil remediation and remineralization. Glacial moraine deposits are a branded source of rock dust and are contained in the glacial till of the “Hondsrug” area, a boulder clay ridge in the northeastern Netherlands. Formerly, erratic rocks from this boulder clay served various practical purposes. The existing apparent inutility of these erratic rocks motivates us to review their potential as rock dust. Lack of chemical analyses on the in situ erratic rocks resorts to an evaluation of their inferred Fennoscandian source rocks which are of igneous and sedimentary lithology. The chemical composition of these inferred source rocks is compared with that of proven rock dust suppliers. It is concluded that even though there are compositional parallels between the rock dust, the Hondsrug area glacial till is comparatively decalcified and mineralogically of limited benefit. Moreover, exceptional magnitudes of erratic rocks are scarcely encountered while at the same time, the bulk is preserved as geological heritage. Despite the adversities, it could be chosen to commence trials with crushing idle erratic rocks in the Hondsrug area whenever this may be assessed as a useful supplement.
Fig. 3. Stockpile of Hondsrug area erratic rocks exhibited at a heritage museum connected to Hondsrug UNESCO Global Geopark shown for estimation purposes. From (1), it follows that the supposed volume (V) of 25 cubic metres weighs 40.5 t. Due to uncertainties with regards o stockpiled volume and the omit of pore spaces—which, despite the added irregularity constant, is expected to yield greater mass—an educated range of plausible masses of 35-45 is proposed for the stockpiled erratics. It should be noted hat the stockpile in the above image is considered an exceptional excavation in terms of the magnitude of erratics Wolters, personal communication, 2022). It can be inferred hat for remediation of the ~351 ha Elperstroomgebied, as much as ~100 equivalent stockpiles may be required presuming its effectiveness as a soil remediator.
Fig. 3. Stockpile of Hondsrug area erratic rocks exhibited at a heritage museum connected to Hondsrug UNESCO Global Geopark shown for estimation purposes. From (1), it follows that the supposed volume (V) of 25 cubic metres weighs 40.5 t. Due to uncertainties with regards o stockpiled volume and the omit of pore spaces—which, despite the added irregularity constant, is expected to yield greater mass—an educated range of plausible masses of 35-45 is proposed for the stockpiled erratics. It should be noted hat the stockpile in the above image is considered an exceptional excavation in terms of the magnitude of erratics Wolters, personal communication, 2022). It can be inferred hat for remediation of the ~351 ha Elperstroomgebied, as much as ~100 equivalent stockpiles may be required presuming its effectiveness as a soil remediator.
t.a. signifies trace amounts. A single dash (-) signifies absence of relevant oxide.
t.a. signifies trace amounts. A single dash (-) signifies absence of relevant oxide.
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GeologyGeochemistryParent RockSedimentary Rock
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