Abstract
According to the principles of criminalistics, environmental forensic expertise aims to support the judicial proceedings in cases involving potential ecological damage, identifying the nature and responsibility of the offending agent under investigation. The interdisciplinarity of environmental issues often necessitates a broad skill set for professionals assessing such cases. For instance, special attention is required to evaluate soil constitution for water flow or channels in pedological features. These elements may indicate the natural outcrop of the water table and, consequently, the presence of a spring or waterhole, which designates a Permanent Preservation Area (PPA), as legally defined. Conversely, misinterpretation of these natural features can lead to improper classification in judicial settings, which may mistakenly attribute legal significance to areas not characterized as a spring or waterhole under current regulations. Such features could instead be classified as subsurface tunnels or soil piping formed by mineral dissolution and transport due to erosive processes. This article aims to contribute to the technical-scientific debate in the forensic sciences and to support other professionals in the field, thus facilitating environmental forensic examinations that are consistent with both legal and scientific standards.