AGRN 410 Soil Fertility

Syllabus

Description

Detailed discussions of the important biogeochemical cycles that occur in soils and the effects of these on soil productivity. Includes the effect of management practices to maintain and/or improve the productivity of agricultural, forested, urban and contaminated soils. Quantification of the methods to assess soil fertility.

 

Course Objectives

1) Understand the effects of soil chemical, physical and biological properties, and their interactions, on soil quality.

2) Describe qualitatively and quantitatively the impact of management practices on soil fertility.

3) Interpret data and make recommendations to improve the fertility of soils.

 

Instructor

Dr. Louis McDonald

1102 Agricultural Sciences Building

Phone: 293-6023 x4324

email: LMMcDonald@mail.wvu.edu

Office hours: Mon. & Wed 10:00 – 11:00 AM; Tues. 2:00-3:00 PM. Other hours by arrangement

 

Course Materials

1) J.L. Havlin et al. 1999. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers, J.D. Beaton, S.L. Tisdale, W.L. Nelson. 1998. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers. 6th Edition. Prentice Hall

2) Scientific calculator.

3) Additional readings as assigned in class

 

Grading

Final Exam                                            200 points

In-Term Exams (2 @ 100 points)             200 points

Quizzes (5 @ 10 points)                           50 points

Exercises (5 @ 20 points)                      100 points

Research Project                                   150 points

Total                                                     700 points

 

Exams: There will be two (2) exams during the semester (100 points each) and a comprehensive final exam during Finals Week (200 points). Both exams may include in-class and take-home sections. Exam results will be reviewed in class but will not be returned. Failure to return an exam will result in a zero for that exam. Exams may be viewed at any time in my office.

 

Quizzes: We will have five (5) short, unannounced, in-class quizzes, each worth ten (10) points.

 

Exercises: There will be five (5) exercises, each worth 20 points. For all exercises, text must be typed (numerical solutions to problems can be neatly hand-written) and follow the format specified. Exercises that do not meet these requirements will be returned upgraded. Late exercises will not be accepted.

 

Research Project: During the first half of the semester, you will design and conduct an experiment dealing with any aspect of soil fertility that you choose. The experiment can be a field project with soils as they occur on the landscape or in plots, a greenhouse, or laboratory experiment. We will discuss example projects in class. I will help you choose a topic and, where possible, provide materials and analytical support. I must approve all topics before work begins.

 

In the second half of the semester, you will present the results of your work in two formats: a research paper and a research poster. The research paper will be a detailed report of your work in the format of a scientific journal article. For the poster presentation, you will abstract information from your research paper and present it to your peers. Format and requirements for the research paper and poster will be provided in a separate handout and discussed in class.

 

Homework: There will be occasional homework assignments throughout the semester. The purpose is to provide you with an opportunity to practice computational problems. These will be corrected but will not count toward your grade.

 

Grading will be on a straight Scale: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C;
60-69 = D; <60 = F.

 

Make-ups

There will be no make-ups for missed projects, homework, exercises or quizzes. A make-up exam will be given on Friday Dec. 5 if an exam was missed for a University approved reason, or you may use your grade on the Final Exam as a substitute.

 

How to do well in this course.

The prerequisites for this course are AGRN 202, AGRN 203 and CHEM 116. If you have not had these courses (and are an undergraduate), you should drop and retake this course next year. As is typical for upper division science courses, we will cover a lot of material fairly quickly. We will build on the foundation you established in your lower division courses and add new concepts and vocabulary. Therefore, I expect that you have completed the lower division courses required for your degree. Although you can still take this course if you haven’t completed all of these courses, you should recognize that you may have to do some extra work to catch up. I will help you identify these areas and provide you with suggestions to help you get up to speed.

 

A few specific recommendations for doing well,

·         Come to class and take good notes. Some of the material presented in class is not in the book. Most importantly, the connections between the concepts we will be discussing will be made in class. These will be more difficult for you to try and make on your own, just from the reading assignments

·         Read what is assigned, before class. Supplement your class notes with information from the readings.

·         Complete all of the assignments, including the homework. Follow the required format and submit work on time.

·         Don’t get behind. You will be particularly busy from mid-October to the end of November. Plan and manage your time wisely.

·         Do not try to cram for exams.. It is impossible to learn all you need to know the night before the exam. Even if you do manage to memorize what is needed, it is unlikely you will be able to synthesize that information to adequately answer the discussion questions. Spending a few hours every week on this material will be much less stressful, and is a more efficient and productive approach.

·         Come talk to me if you are having problems. The earlier the better.

 

West Virginia University and I am committed to social justice. Our University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color or national origin. If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class, please advise me and make arrangements with Disability Services (293-6700).

 

Tentative Schedule

Lecture

 

Section

Topic
1

Mon

 

Introductions, Course Overview, Syllabus
2

Wed

A

Food Production & Sustainable Agriculture
3

Fri

B

The Concept of Soil Quality
4

Mon

 

 
5

Wed

 

 
6

Fri

 

 

Mon

 

Labor Day
7

Wed

 

 
8

Fri

 

 
9

Mon

 

 
10

Wed

C

Assessing Soil Fertility
11

Fri

 

 
12

Mon

 

 
13

Wed

 

 
14

Fri

 

 
15

Mon

D

Soil Acidity and Liming
16

Wed

 

 
17

Fri

 

 
18

Mon

 

 
19

Wed

 

 

Fri

 
Exam 1: Sections A – D
20

Mon

E

Soil Organic Matter
21

Wed

 

 
22

Fri

 

 
23

Mon

 

 
24

Wed

 

 
25

Fri

F

Micronutrients & Beneficial Elements
26

Mon

 

 
27

Wed

 

 
28

Fri

G

Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur
29

Mon

 

 
30

Wed

 

 
31

Fri

 

Nitrogen & Phosphorus
32

Mon

 

 
33

Wed

 

 
34

Fri

 

 
35

Mon

 

 

Wed

 
Exam 2: Sections E – G
36

Fri

H

Fertilizers

Mon

 

Poster Sessions

Wed

 

Poster Sessions

Fri

 

Poster Sessions

Mon

 

Thanksgiving Recess

Wed

 

Thanksgiving Recess

Fri

 

Thanksgiving Recess
37

Mon

 

Fertilizer Economics
38

Wed

I

Soil Fertility: Misconceptions in the Popular Press
39

Fri

 

Review

 

This syllabus is only a guideline for the student’s convenience and is valid only for the instructor, course and semester listed above. It does not constitute a contract between the student and any faculty member, administrative unit, or representative of WVU.