Syllabus
* Tentative syllabus
1.Introduction - What is soil - Components of soil - Soil development and mineralogy
2. Soil chemistry - Acidity/Basicity - CEC - Buffer capacity of soils
3. Soil physics - Particle/pore size - Soil structure - Soil water
4. Soil organic matter - Introduction - Nutrients in soil
5. Soil classifications and geographical distribution of soil types
6. Deep delve into soil organic matter (SOM) dynamics - Pathways of SOM formation - Stabilization mechanisms - Analytical techniques
7. Field day
8. Laboratory course
Annotation
This lecture will deal with the basics of soil science, including soil development and classification, soil chemistry and soil physics. Special focus will be put on soil organic matter dynamics and organic carbon storage in soil with links to climate change and rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. A part of the course will be taking place in the field, where the students will classify a soil profile and take volumetric soil samples. These samples will then be used to analyse basic soil properties in the laboratory, such as pH value, water content, density, or particle size.
Soil organic matter related laboratory methods taught will be the measurement of heterotrophic respiration and organic carbon contents, and the separation of the soil into fractions relatable to different stabilization mechanisms of soil organic carbon.
The subject is intended primarily for doctoral studies, requires knowledge of pedology, biogeochemistry and basics of analytical chemistry.