Lecture Schedule

Lab Schedule

Project Guidelines

Old Tests

Presentations

Syllabus

Spring 2009

Course web page: http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu/soil454

Text:
Buol, S.W., R.J. Southard, R.C. Graham, and P.A. McDaniel. 2003. Soil Genesis and Classification. 5th edition. Iowa State Press, Ames.
Available from numerous on-line sources.

additional course references:
Soil Survey Division Staff, 1993. Soil Survey Manual.
http://soils.usda.gov/technical/manual/

Soil Survey Staff, 2006. Keys to Soil Taxonomy.
http://soils.usda.gov/technical/classification/tax_keys/

http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu/soilorders
NRCS Field Book for Describing and Sampling Soils

Objectives:
After successfully completing this course, a student should:

(i) be familiar with the types of soils in Idaho, the U.S., and the world;
(ii) be able to make a thorough and technically correct description of a soil in the field;
(iii) understand and appreciate the relationships and interactions between soils and plant communities;
(iv) have a basic understanding of how soils form and the patterns in which they occur on landscapes;
(v) be able to make some reasonable estimates of soil chemical and physical properties from field observations;
(vi) have a working knowledge of Soil Taxonomy.

Grades:
Course grades will be determined by performance on the following percentages:

The following scale will be used to assign grades:
90-100% = A
80-89% = B
70-79% = C
60-69% = D
<60% = F

Absences:
No makeup exams will be given without prior arrangement or a very good reason. Lab exercises and field trips generally are a 'one-time-only' opportunity and cannot formally be made up.