Soil Science

Units: 3

Fundamentals of soils including origin, composition and classification; their physical, chemical, and biological properties; significance of these properties to soil-plant relationships and soil management.

GEP: Natural Sciences

Offered in Fall and Spring

Units: 3

Analysis of the effects of soil environments on microbial growth. Relationships and significance of microbes to mineral transformations, plant development, and environmental quality. Management of soil microorganisms in different ecosystems.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

The course provides detailed information on plant nutrition, soil fertility, and management of essential plant nutrients and other amendments affecting plant growth and nutrition. The influence of numerous biological, physical, and chemical soil properties on plant nutrient availability will be emphasized. Students will be familiar with contemporary diagnostic tools to assess nutrient availability, and the soil and nutrient management technologies essential for enhancing soil and plant productivity while minimizing the impact of nutrient use on the environment.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 3

Importance of soils in land application of municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes; onsite disposal of domestic wastewater; bioremediation of contaminated sites; erosion and sedimentation control; farm nutrient management; and nonpoint source water pollution.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

Geographic information systems [GIS], global positioning system [GPS], and remote sensing to manage spatially variable soils, vegetation, other natural resources. Develop: function understanding of GIS principles, working knowledge of ArcGIS, problem-solving/critical-thinking necessary to use GIS to characterize and manage soils, agriculture, natural resources. Introduction to GIS; Maps/Cartography; Vectore/Raster Data Models; Georeferencing/Coordinate Systems; Spatial Data Sources; GPS/GPS skillls/ Remote Sensing; Statistics/Interpolation; Precision Agriculture; Computer Aided Design and GIS; Creating Analyzing 3-D Surfaces. Credit not given for both SSC 440 and SSC 540.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

Quantitative approaches to the cycling of elements and chemical species in soils and the environment, including carbon and organic contaminants, non-metallic macronutrients, metals and metalloids.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 4

Genesis, morphology, and classification of soils; characterization of soils according to their diagnostic properties; interpreting soil use potential; emphasis on North Carolina soils and their taxonomy; field exercise in soil mapping and site evaluation; several field trips, one overnight.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

As the world population grows to 9 billion people by 2050, we will be pressed to increase food security, respond to the consequences of a changing climate, and improve human health -- all while protecting the environment and maintaining natural resources. Soils play a critical role in many of these challenges. The goal of this course is to teach students how soils regulate environmental quality through a host of chemical, physical a,d biological processes. We will examine a series of global challenges, assess their related environmental issues and policies, and analyse the roles of soils in each issue.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

Soil physical properties and their influence on plant growth and environmentally sound land use; soil solid-porosity-density relationships, soil water, heat and air relations and transport. Principles and applications of these topics using current literature in agronomy, turf, horticulture, water quality, waste management and urban land use.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

Wetland definitions, concepts, functions and regulations; chemical, physical and morphological characteristics of wetland soils. Wetland soil identification using field indicators and monitoring equipment; principles of wetland creation, restoration and mitigation. Special project required for SSC 570. Two mandatory field trips. Field trips for distance education students are not required but optional. Credit will not be given for both SSC 470 and SSC 570.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 1 - 6

Offered as needed to present materials not normally available in regular course offerings or for offering of new courses on a trial basis.

Offered in Fall and Spring

Units: 4

Soil physical properties and theory of selected instrumentation to measure them. Topics including soil solids, soil water, air and heat. Emphasis on transport processes and the energy concept of soil and water.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 4

Soil as a medium for microbial growth, the relation of microbes to important mineral transformations in soil, the importance of biological equilibrium and significance of soil microbes to environmental quality.

Units: 3

Geographic information systems [GIS], global positioning system [GPS], and remote sensing to manage spatially variable soils, vegetation, other natural resources. Develop: function understanding of GIS principles, working knowledge of ArcGIS, problem-solving/critical-thinking necessary to use GIS to characterize and manage soils, agriculture, natural resources. Introduction to GIS; Maps/Cartography; Vectore/Raster Data Models; Georeferencing/Coordinate Systems; Spatial Data Sources; GPS/GPS skillls/ Remote Sensing; Statistics/Interpolation; Precision Agriculture; Computer Aided Design and GIS; Creating Analyzing 3-D Surfaces. Credit not given for both SSC 440 and SSC 540.

Offered in Fall Only

Units: 3

Soil conditions affecting plant growth and the chemistry of soil and fertilizer interrelationships. Factors affecting the availability of nutrients. Methods of measuring nutrient availability.

Units: 3

Morphology: Chemical, physical and mineralogical parameters useful in characterizing soil. Genesis: soil-forming factors and processes. Classification: historical development and present concepts of soil taxonomy with particular reference to worldwide distribution of great soil groups as well as discussions of logical bases of soil classification.

Units: 3

Identification and evaluation of basic factors influencing movement of potential pollutants through soil and their underlying strata. Development of understanding of processes of soil and site evaluation for waste disposal and transport of pollutants through soils.

Offered in Spring Only

Units: 3

Wetland definitions, concepts, functions and regulations; chemical, physical and morphological characteristics of wetland soils. Wetland soil identification using field indicators and monitoring equipment; principles of wetland creation, restoration and mitigation. Special project required for SSC 570. Two mandatory field trips. Field trips for distance education students are not required but optional. Credit will not be given for both SSC 470 and SSC 570.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer

Units: 1 - 6

Special problems in various phases of soils. Emphasis placed on review of recent and current research. Credits arranged in consultation with sponsoring faculty member.

Offered in Fall Spring Summer