Get to know the world underground! Soil is one of the earth's most important resources. Soil mediates plant productivity the composition of plant communities and ecosystem functions. Soils evolve from inert rock to a biologically active material over millennia and play a vital role in our food security. We can use soil and the underlying geology to understand how glaciers shaped our region and in part how that history has provided the Midwest with some of the most productive agricultural soils in the world. Learn how the relationships among the physical chemical and biological properties of soil are crucial for assessing soil functions and predicting soil responses to global environmental changes in natural urban and agricultural systems. The interactions between organisms environments and soil will be discussed in lecture and laboratory sessions. Students should contact their department chair for details and to apply. Permission of the Department Chair required.
- Teacher: Alma Rodriguez Estrada