SOIL 101: Introduction to Soil and the Environment

Theory: Pedology (7 weeks): Concepts of soil; composition of the earth-crust and its environment, pedogenic factors and their interactions, major components of soils; introduction to inorganic components of soils (origin and nature of rocks); classification systems; Soil Physics (6 weeks) Soil as a 3-phase dispersed system.  The solid phase: bulk density, particle density, specific surface area, soil texture and classification systems, Stoke's law and particle size analysis.  The liquid phase: soil water content and methods of determination including gravimetric, neutron scattering, time domain reflectometry; concept of equivalent depth, soil water storage, total soil water potential (matric, pressure, gravitational, and osmotic or solute potentials) and potential diagrams, soil moisture characteristic and its uses.

Practicals: (6 weeks)

Determination of (a) soil water content on (i) mass basis and (ii) volume basis, (b) bulk density, (c) particle density, (d) particle size analysis (e) soil moisture characteristic using the filter paper

method.