Soil Science 325, Fall 2004
Pedology
TR 8:00 - 9:15AM in 357 Soils
Brief Description: This class will examine soils as integral
components of the landscape. The class lectures will cover recognition of
soil morphologic features and the mechanisms governing soil formation and
development. We will also discuss spatial relationships and distribution of
soils, taxonomy and mapping, and land-use applications. The field component
will involve several trips to Picnic Point and the UW Arboretum to examine
soils in the field and practice field descriptive techniques.
Pre-requisites: Introductory soil science or consent of the instructor
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. Cynthia (Cindy) Stiles; 433 King Hall; 262-0331; e-mail castiles@wisc.edu
Office hours: 10am-12noon Wednesdays
Text: Soil Genesis and Classification, 5th Edition, by S.W. Buol, R.J. Southard, R.C. Graham and P.A. McDaniel
Grading: Each of the following categories counts 20% toward your final grade: 1) Attendance and class participation, 2) Four homework activities, 3) Midterm exam, 4) Final exam, and 5) Final field report and soil data sheet compilation.
All activities are on the honor system and you are responsible for your own work, although you may work in group on the homework and the field report.
Syllabus:
Advice: The sub-discipline of Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification is one that is very "terminology-rich." To get the most out of the lectures, you should read the text ahead of class so that the terms introduced as we go along is not totally confusing.
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Click to view/print |
| 1 | Sep 2 | The concept of soils and how they form (Chapter 1) | |
| 2 | Sep 7 | Soil features - examination and description (Chapter 2, pp. 35-60) | |
| 3 | Sep 9 | Soil features - composition and characterization (Chapter 2, pp. 60-84) | |
| 4 | Sep 14 | Biogeochemical processes in soil formation (Chapter 3) | |
| 5 | Sep 16 | Biogeochemical processes (cont.; Homework 1 due) | |
| 6 | Sep 21 | Biogeochemical processes (cont.) | |
| 7 | Sep 23 | Factors of soil formation (Chapter 4) | Homework Exercise 2 Homework 2 Examples |
| 8 | Sep 28 | Factors of soil formation (Chapter 5) | |
| 9 | Sep 30 | Classification of soils, background (Chapter 6; Homework 2 due) | |
| 10 | Oct 5 | Classification of soils, U.S. Soil taxonomy (Chapter 7) | |
| Oct 7 | Mid-term examination (Review session Tuesday 5:30 pm, Rm 357 Soils) | ||
| 11 | Oct 12 | Mapping Soils (Chapters 20 & 21) | Exam 2 |
| 12 | Oct 14 | Gelisols and Histosols (Chapters 12 & 13) | Homework Exercise 3 |
| 13 | Oct 19 | Andisols and Spodosols (Chapters 9 & 17) | |
| 14 | Oct 21 | Oxisols and Vertisols (Chapters 16 & 19; Homework 3 due) | |
| 15 | Oct 26 | Aridisols (Chapter 14) | Homework Exercise 4 |
| 16 | Oct 28 | Ultisols (Chapter 18) | |
| 17* | Nov 2 | Mollisols (Chapter 15 - Don't Forget to VOTE!) | |
| 18* | Nov 4 | Alfisols (Chapter 8; Homework 4 due) | |
| 19 | Nov 11 | Entisols and Inceptisols (Chapters 11 & 14) | |
| Nov 18 | Final take home exam due | ||
| *Dr. Stiles will be out of town during this time, but lectures will be given by a guest speaker. Homework should be submitted by 4:00 PM on the defined deadline either by e-mail attachment or hard copy, with those copies being turned into the main office (Rm. 253 Soils). Final Test will be available on the web on November 11th starting at 10:00 AM. | |||
Additional References:
Birkeland, P.W. 1999. Soils and Geomorphology (3rd edit.).
Oxford Univ. Press, NY. 430 pp. [Steenbock Library S592.2 B57]
Duchaufour, Ph. 1998. Handbook of Pedology: Soils, Vegetation and Environment. A.A. Balkema. 264 pp. [Geography Library S591 D8413]
Jenny, H. 1979. The Soil Resource: Origin and Behavior. Springer-Verlag, NY. 377 pp. [Steen. S592.2 J46]
Schoenenberger, P.J., D.A. Wysocki, E.C. Benham, and W.D. Broderson. 1998. Field Guide for Describing and Sampling Soils. USDA, NRCS, NSSC, Lincoln, NE [http://soils.usda.gov/procedures/field_bk/main.htm]
Soil Science Society of America. 2001. Glossary of soil science terms. [http://www.soils.org/sssagloss]
Soil Survey Division Staff. 1993. Soil Survey Manual. U.S. Govt. Print. Office, Washington, D.C. [http://soils.usda.gov/technical/manual/]
Soil Survey Staff. 2003. Keys to Soil Taxonomy. USDA, NRCS [http://soils.usda.gov/technical/classification/tax_keys/]
Soil Survey Staff. 1999. Soil Taxonomy: a Basic System of Soil Classification for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys (2nd ed.). Agric. Handb. No. 436, USDA Natural Resources Conserv. Serv., U.S. Govt. Print. Office, Washington, D.C. [http://soils.usda.gov/technical/classification/taxonomy/]
Sumner, M.E. (ed.). 2000. Handbook of Soil Science. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. [on reserve at Steenbock Library; S591 H23]
Wilding, L.D., N.E. Smeck, and G.F. Hall (eds.). 1983. Pedogeneis and Soil Taxonomy. Developments in Soil Science, Vol. 11A-11B. Elsevier, N.Y.
http://soils.usda.gov -
USDA Nat’l. Resource Conservation Service
http://soils.usda.gov/gallery/
- NRSC photo gallery
http://lawr.ucdavis.edu/classes/ssc100/index.html
- Univ. of California-Davis, introduction to soil science (Prof. Mike Singer)
http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu/soilorders/
- Univ. of Idaho soil profiles (Prof. Paul McDaniel)
http://www.fao.org/docrep/W8594E/W8594E00.htm
- World Reference Base for Soil Resources
http://www.soils.org - Soil Science Society
of America