CSS 513: Properties, Processes, and Functions of Soils
Instructor:
Dr. Elizabeth Sulzman
Office: 3063 Ag & Life Sci. Bldg
Office hours: W 3-4, R 11-12, or by appointment
Phone: 737-8936
E-mail: Elizabeth.Sulzman@oregonstate.edu
Meeting Time and Place: MWF 11-11:50 AND THURSDAY 2-4:50
Credits: 4 credits (3 hrs lecture + lab)
Course Content:
In this course you will learn about the chemical, physical, and biological nature of soils. You will also learn about the factors controlling soil development, what a soil name can tell you about the environment, and how land management decisions affect soil quality and its sustainability. The course textbook was designed around the lectures (and vice versa), so the reading assignments will reinforce lecture concepts. Lecture notes, homework assignments, reading assignments, and laboratory activities provide a multi-faceted treatment of the lecture material.
NOTE: soils are soils, and so while you likely have a broader background, more experience, and more scientific skills than the undergraduates, it is assumed that you don’t know any more about soils than they do. Thus, lecture for both undergraduates and graduates is combined, but we will go beyond (and in more depth) what the undergraduates do in the laboratory portion of the class (which meets Thursdays, 2:00-4:50, in ALS 0018).
Student learning outcomes:
- Identify the five major environmental functions of soil.
- List the factors controlling soil development and describe how each of these factors has contributed to the soil we see today. View soils in the field and discuss which soil forming factors appear to have had a major influence on their development.
- Describe features of the soil environment based on a soil’s taxonomic name.
- Summarize how a soil’s properties affect its suitability for a variety of uses including agriculture, silviculture, building sites, habitat, landfills, etc. Be able to assess land use suitability in the field.
- Explain the chemical processes that control the release of nutrients from the soil matrix. Explore which cations dominate acid vs. neutral soils in the laboratory.
- Discuss controls on water availability and water movement in a soil profile. Calculate soil water availability in the laboratory.
- Discuss the roles of macrofauna, microfauna, and microflora in processing soil organic matter and their role in determining soil quality. Measure soil microbial activity in the laboratory.
- Identify management practices in both forestry and agriculture that affect soil properties and subsequent productivity.
In addition, graduate students will gain skills in:
- oral presentations
- critical review of the scientific literature
- teaching as learning
Learning resources:
- Textbook: The Nature and Properties of Soils, by Brady and Weil. There are many used copies at the bookstore. Altho page numbers will differ among the editions, the information in the text has not changed, so don’t feel compelled to buy the latest model unless you want to.
- Laboratory Manual (I will post each week’s activities on Blackboard)
- Class notes (only if you like having a framework for your note-taking. I can post this to Blackboard if you want.)
- Blackboard site used a LOT! Check it daily!
Instructors: Elizabeth Sulzman
Department of Crop and Soil Science Home Page
College of Agricultural Sciences Home Page
Oregon State University Home Page
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