Soil Science

Catalog description

Three hours lecture and three hours laboratory per week Prerequisite(s): BIOL 201 with a grade of C- or better Provides students with a fundamental understanding of the structure and function of soil systems: the kinds of organisms that inhabit soil, microbe-plant interactions, nutrient cycling, soil fertility, and plant production. Soil is a habitat for plant roots and plant symbionts, plant pathogens, bacteria and fungi, and macrofauna (i.e. earthworms and vertebrates). Understanding the belowground environment and its complexity is crucial for understanding soil fertility and the role that soils play in agriculture, environmental quality, and global environmental change.