Overview
The course will consist of readings, discussions and presentations on soil health and management, with an emphasis on practical aspects of physical and biological soil conditions. There will be a significant hands-on component in terms of conducting and interpreting the results of field tests for soil quality, and in calculating rates of soil erosion and of carbon & nitrogen additions from soil amendments.
General Outline
Unit I. Introduction, terminology and the “big picture”
- Week 1 - Introduction to Course and Information Sources
- Week 2 - Soil Quality Concept and Indicators
- Week 3 - Land Classification
- Week 4 - Finding and Reading Scientific Papers
Unit II. Soil quality (SQ): Assessment, monitoring and maintaining/enhancing
- Week 5 - SQ - Physical & Chemical Properties
- Week 6 - SQ - Biological Properties & Soil Biodiversity
- Week 7 - Changing soil organic matter levels
-with soil amendments (manure, compost, biosolids) - Week 8 - Cover crops – OM additions and other benefits
Unit III. Soil Conservation - A. Physical issues
- Weeks 9 - Soil Erosion – Water erosion
- (Spring Break)
- Week 10 - Water erosion (cont.) - Predicting and Controlling; Conservation tillage
- Week 11 - Soil Erosion – Wind Erosion
- Week 12 - Soil Erosion – Tillage, Gravity Erosion
- Week 12 - Compaction and its mitigation
Unit III. Soil Conservation - B. Chemical issues
- Week 13 - Soils and chemical pollution
- Week 14 - Irrigation, Salinity and Sodicity (salt-affected soils)
Closing
- Week 15 - Reports and PresentationsThere will be 5-6 written assignments throughout the course, including reviewing and summarizing one or more readings (including readings from the scientific literature), calculations, interim and final reports for your soil quality management project site, and a final group project in which you will design a soil quality score card.
There will be no proctored exams in this class. The course activities you do are designed to ‘test’ your knowledge and understanding of the course materials. Having said that, the material of the course builds on previous material, so it is important to ensure that you have a good understanding as you go along. (This approach, perhaps, requires more self-discipline in terms of keeping up and asking questions as we go, since there are no ‘exam deadlines’ to meet.)
Heading using the h3tag
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