EA3004:03
Applied Soil Science
Cairns
Prerequisites: 18 level 2 units
24 lectures, 21 hours practicals, 20 hours field work. April/May intensive block mode.
Staff: Dr B Lottermoser.
Nature and description of soils using aerial photography and soil and regolith maps. Soil components, soil mineralogy, macro- and micro-morphology; chemical attributes: hydrogen ion concentration, exchangeable cation behaviour and exchange rates; soil organic matter and colloids; biological processes in soils; soil classification; soil genesis. Acid sulphate soils in coastal Australia and their environmental impact and remediation. Soils in the mine environment.
Learning Objectives:
- to train students in the recognition and documentation of soil attributes;
- to provide a general background in the mineralogical, chemical, physical and biological processes involved in soil systems;
- to provide an overview of procedures and management strategies directed to the benefication, maintenance and sustainability of soil cover.
Assessment by a two-hour theory examination (50%); practical exercises, fieldwork, tests, seminars and assignments (50%).