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Pedology: General Concepts and Specific Applications
Soils represent the product of interactions among the biotic and abiotic components of the environment. Because of pedogenic inertia and ongoing earth surface processes, soils contain information related to past Quaternary environments. This course covers the general processes and paradigms of soil formation. After an introduction to soil processes, soil description, and soil taxonomy, specific topics related to the use of soils as paleoenvironmental indicators will be discussed.
Instructor: Raymond G. Mueller, Richard Stockton College
Text: Buol, S.W., Hole, F.D., McCracken, R.J., and Southard, R.J., 1997, Soil Genesis and Classification, 4th Edition: Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.
Syllabus
Week # |
Topics |
| 1 |
History and development of soil science; paradigms of soil genesis |
| 2 |
External factors of soil genesis (Hans Jenny's State Factor Equation; internal soil-forming processes; Simonson's generalized theory of soil genesis; multiple pathways of soil genesis |
| 3 |
Horizonation; horizon nomenclature; profile description |
| 4 |
Basic soil physical processes |
| 5 |
Basic soil physical and chemical processes |
| 6 |
Basic soil chemical processes |
| 7 |
Basic soil biological processes |
| 8 |
Soil taxonomy 1: rationale and internal structure |
| 9 |
Soil taxonomy 2: soil orders |
| 10 |
Soil as a paleoenvironmental indicator 1: climate change, isotope analysis |
| 11 |
Soil as a paleoenvironmental indicator 2: paleopedology, radiocarbon dating |
| 12 |
Soil as a paleoenvironmental indicator 3: phytoliths, micromorphology |
| 13 |
Field trip |
| 14 |
Oral presentation of research papers |
Course List
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