EA3004:03
Applied Soil Science
| Townsville, Cairns | HECS Band 2 |
24 hours lectures, 27 hours practicals, 16 hours field work. Semester 2. Lectures are videoconferenced to Townsville campus.
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%).