Soils & Biogeochemistry

202. Topics in Advanced Soil Chemistry (3)
Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: undergraduate course in soil chemistry, water chemistry, or consent of instructor. Reviews of current research in soil chemistry. Topics include double layer theory; clay mineral and oxide surface chemistry; adsorption on soil surfaces; speciation and modeling of solution ions; solubility and mineral stability diagrams. Discussion of current journal articles. May be repeated once for credit when topic differs. Offered in alternate years.—III. Zasoski

208. Soil-Plant Interrelationships (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 100, Plant Biology 111B, or consent of instructor. Plant needs, occurrence and reactions of water and mineral nutrients in soils; root systems and their growth in soils; mass flow and diffusion mechanisms in nutrient acquisition; models relating nutrient uptake to soil and plant characteristics; nutrient assimilation and crop quality. Offered in alternate years.—(II.) Richards

209. Physiology and Ecology of Mycorrhizal Symbioses (3)
Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: Plant Biology 111 or consent of instructor; course 100 recommended. Structure, function and evolutionary development of mycorrhizal fungi and the root-fungal symbiosis. Emphasis on regulation of carbon and nutrient exchanges between host and symbiont. Course integrates mycorrhizal physiology and ecology in an ecosystem context. Offered in alternate years.—(I.) Bledsoe

211. Advanced Soil Microbiology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: Chemistry 8A-8B; course 111; Biological Sciences 102, 103 or an equivalent course recommended. Microbial metabolism of organic chemicals in soil, both natural and xenobiotic. Decomposition of organic matter. Kinetics of microbial processes in soil. Offered in alternate years.—(III.) Scow

216. Physical Geochemistry (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 102 or Chemistry 110A or Geology 115 and Mathematics 119. First half emphasizes equilibrium thermodynamics, including choices of standard states, ideal solutions, and use of the Gibbs-Duhem relation. Second half covers geochemical kinetics including simple rate laws, transition state theory, solute diffusion, and experimental methods.—I. (I.) Casey

218. Soil Erosion and Conservation (3)
Lecture—2 hours; discussion—1 hour. Prerequisite: graduate standing; courses 118, 120. Processes of soil erosion by wind and water in agricultural areas, and methods of soil conservation will be discussed. Methods of predicting rates of soil erosion will be considered. Offered in alternate years.—(II.) Singer

219. Ecosystem Biogeochemistry (4)
Lecture—3 hours; laboratory/discussion—2 hours. Prerequisite: introductory courses in ecology/biology and soils recommended; undergraduates accepted with consent of instructor. Multidisciplinary analysis of energy and nutrient transfers within terrestrial ecosystems. Examination of processes and inter- and intra-system interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. Laboratory section uses biogeochemical simulation models to examine case studies. (Same course as Ecology 219.)—III. (III.) Dahlgren, Bledsoe

220. Pedology (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor; course 120 recommended. Topics selected from studies of soil-forming processes, soil-geomorphic relations, mineral weathering, new developments in soil classification, and development of pedologic theory. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated once for credit. Offered in alternate years.—II. Southard

222. Organic Chemistry of Soil (3)
Lecture—3 hours. Prerequisite: Chemistry 8A, 8B, Mathematics 16A, 16B, course 100 or the equivalent. Structure and function of soil organic matter, biochemistry of humic substance formation, relationship of organic matter to nutrient cycling and sustainability in agricultural and natural ecosystems, reactions of organics with humic substances in soil and water, methods for characterization. Offered in alternate years.—II. Horwath

290. Special Topics in Soil Science (1)
Seminar—1 hour. Prerequisite: graduate standing. Oral presentation and discussion of scientific material and procedures for review and critique of publications. (S/U grading only.)—I, III. (I, III.)

298. Group Study (1-5)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

299. Research (1-12)
(S/U grading only.)

396. Teaching Assistant Training Practicum (1-4)
Prerequisite: graduate standing. May be repeated for credit. (S/U grading only.)—I, II, III. (I, II, III.)