SOILS 362/562
SOIL GENESIS AND MORPHOLOGY
SPRING 2008
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Catalog Description:
3
cr. Geologic origin, characteristics and taxonomic groupings of soils; survey
methods and mapping procedures. Two hrs. lec., two hrs lab per week. Prereq:
summer camp or cons. instr.
Objectives of the Course:
This
course is designed for upper level undergraduate and graduate students in soils,
forestry, natural resources, biological sciences and related fields. The overall
objectives of the course are such by the end of the semester the students should
be able to:
1. Become familiar with the basic processes and reactions that lead
to the formation of soils
2. Understand the factors that control the processes of soil
formation and how these factors interact
3. Identify the important soil morphological characteristics
4. Understand the principles of Soil Taxonomy - the soil classification system currently in use in the United States
5. Know the characteristics of the 12 Soil Orders
6. Classify a soil to the subgroup level using the keys to Soil Taxonomy and the appropriate profile description information and laboratory data
7. Apply basic soil survey methods and soil mapping procedures
Textbooks:
Soil
Genesis and Classification, 5th edition, by S.W. Buol, R.J. Southard, R.C.
Graham, and P.A. McDaniel. 2003. Iowa State University Press. Ames, Iowa.
A Laboratory Manual for Students of Pedology. S.J. Levine and M.I. Harpstead. UW-Stevens Point. 1999.
Additional References:
Keys
to Soil Taxonomy. 2006. Soil Survey Staff. Tenth Edition. USDA-NRCS.
Washington, D.C.
Soil Taxonomy - A Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys. 1999. Soil Survey Staff. Second Edition. USDA-NRCS. Washington, D.C.
Instructor:
Steven J.
Levine
Office Hours: 9-11 Tues.
CNR Room
278
1-3 Thurs.
Phone: 346-3704
slevine@uwsp.edu
Attendance:
Attendance
will not be taken in lecture. However, frequent absences in lecture are noted
with disfavor. Attendance in lab is required. Students are expected to notify
the instructor when labs are to be missed. Missed labs are expected to be
made up.
Course Expectations for
delivery of on-line material:
The
instructor will make the next week's lecture information available on the Soils
362 website by Friday at 6:00PM of the previous week. The students will come to
lecture on Tuesday morning prepared with copies of the upcoming week's lecture
material (outlines, figures, graphs, tables, charts, etc) that the instructor
had placed on the website on the previous Friday.
Determination of the final
grade:
Two
one-hour semester
exams 200 points
Lab
quiz on profiles
35 points
Final
exam
125 points
Soil Mapping
Project
50 points
GIS
project
75 points
Minerals I.D.
quiz
30 points
Total
515 points