Another important point is the high capability of forest soils to store hydrophobic substances . This can lead to reemissions long after the last application. examined the distribution of POPs including DDT and its TPs in forest soils throughout Germany. They found that concentrations in eastern Germany were much higher than in western Germany (equivalent to the former areas of the GDR and West Germany, respectively). For the region of the sampled lakes, ca. 160-440 µg•kg -1 for 4,4'-DDT, ca. 40-110 µg•kg -1 for 4,4'-DDE, and ca. 4-11 µg•kg -1 for 4,4'-DDD were measured, which was at least one order of magnitude higher than in western Germany. The authors state the severe forest treatment in the former GDR as reason for this. The concentrations in our study are within or below this range.