ESPM 120

Soil Characteristics

Fall 2005

ESPM 120 (CCN 29340)“Soil Characteristics”Fall 2005

Instructor and Office Hours:Ronald Amundson317 Hilgard Hallphone: 643-7890e-mail: earthy@nature.berkeley.eduOffice Hours: M,W 1:30-3:00

AssistantJon Sanderman47 Hilgardphone: 643-6910e-mail: jsandman@nature.berkeley.edu

Class Web Site: Source for all handouts, figures, homework.http://nature.berkeley.edu/classes/espm-120

UNITS: 3

LECTURES: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10-11am, 132 Mulford Hall

FIELD TRIP: This is a required part of the course: 8:00am to 6:30pm, Saturday,October 8, 2005. Written report is required.

TEXTBOOK: The Nature & Properties of Soils, 13th Edition, by N.C. Brady and R.R.Weil, 2002. Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey.

EXAMINATIONS AND CREDIT BREAKDOWN:Midterm Exam I 20%Midterm Exam II 20%Final Exam 25%Field Trip Report 15%Assignments, Participation 20%

ASSIGNMENTS: Eight main assignments will be distributed throughout the semester,and they will be due about a week later. They may form the basis of in-classdiscussions on some class days; therefore, having them completed will help with yourparticipation grade. There will also be a Field Trip report. Late assignments will besubject to a reduction in score.

Week Month Day Topic Reading Homework1 August 29 Introduction: Soils and

Berkeley31 Introduction to the Soil

SystemChap.1

2 Introduction to the SoilSystemDemo: Soils in Daily Life

1: Soil in ourlives

2 September 5 HOLIDAY: Labor Day7 Soil Formation: Factors and

ProcessesChap. 2

9 Demo: Getting Dirty No homework3 12 Soil Architecture: Horizons,

Particles and AggregatesChap. 4

14 Continued16 Demo: Soil texture and

density (taking a bath withArchimedes)

2: Soilcalculationswith clay andBD

4 19 Soil Classification Chap. 321 Soil Classification23 Soil Classification 3.Soil

Classification5 26 Soil Architecture:

Chemistry and mineralsChap. 8

28 Continued30 Demo: Minerals and clay 4: Cation

exchange, etc6 October 3 Soil Atmosphere Chap. 7

5 EXAM 17 Continued Field Trip Oct.

87 10 Water in Soils Chap. 5

12 Water in Soils14 Demo: Soil temperature,

CO2

5: Soil water

8 17 Soil hydrological cycles Chap. 619 continued21 Demo: Soil Water 6: Soil gases

9 24 Soil acidity Chap. 926 Soil Salinity Chap. 1028 Discussion: Soil Salinity in

California7: Soil salinity

10 31 Soil ecology Chap. 11November 2 Continued

4 Soil Carbon Cycle Chap. 12 8: Soil C cycleand calculations

4 Soil Carbon Cycle Chap. 12 8: Soil C cycleand calculations

11 7 Continued9 Soils Nitrogen Cycle Chap. 1311 HOLIDAY: Veterans Day

12 14 Demo: Measuring soil Cand N

16 EXAM 2 PAPER TOPICCHOSEN

18 Soil N continued13 21 Soil P and Micronutrients Chap. 14

23 The Human Footprint:Erosion

Chap. 17

25 HOLIDAY: Thanksgiving14 28 The Human Footprint: Land

Disturbance30 The Human Footprint: C

and NDecember 2 Discussion: Soil C and

Climate Policy15 5 Soil Rating Systems Chap. 4 PAPER DUE

7 Soil Rating Systems9 Review13 FINAL EXAM 8-11AM

History of Pedology

• mid 19th Century: no scientific study of soils

• Soil science followed closely behind development of geology (early 19th century) and biology (Origin of Species).

• Two key contributors to development of Pedology– Vasili Dochuchaev (Russian geographer/mineralogist)– Eugene Hilgard (American geologist/chemist)

Dokuchaev and the founders of Russian pedology

Eugene Hilgard and Soil Science at Berkeley

•Born in Germany

•Raised in American frontier (Illinois) in intellectually oriented family

•Received PhD at University of Heidelberg–Agricultural chemistry and geology

•Accepted position as Assistant State Geology of Mississippi in 1855

Hilgard in Mississippi

•Not a glamorous job

•Recognized his future with state lie not with geology but agriculture and soils

•Produced a landmark document (next slide) with half geology and half soils

The Mississippi Report

•Detailed discussion of soil formation and soil chemistry

•“soil” map of state….

Hilgard’s Agricultural Map

•analogous to modern generalized soil map

•Map units based on geology and vegetation

Hilgard Moves to California

•Recruited by UC president in 1874

•Replaced first chair of agriculture (who was fired)

Berkeley when Hilgard arrived….

•Despite cultural isolation Hilgard seized opportunty to expand College of Agriculture (now CNR) and make soils a national issue

Hilgard and John Wesley Powell (USGS)

•Prodded JW Powell to start a national soil survey program (later adopted by USDA)

Hilgard and his legacy….

• Mountains, lakes, streets, buildings, journals are all named after Hilgard

• His influence was international, inspiring the next generation of scientists, particularly Hans Jenny……

Hans Jenny and Soil Formation

• soils form predictably in response to environmental factors (Dokuchaev ~ 1880)

• Hans Jenny (1920’s to 1930’s) transformed conceptual model to a more quantitative theory following tenets of physical chemistry

State Factor Equation

Soil = f (initial conditions, external conditions, time)

or, based on field observation

Soils = f (climate, biota, topography, parent material, time, …. )

Key Concepts of State Factor Theory

•Factors are independent of system–System is small relative to surroundings

• A change in variables defines a new system –there are essentially an infinite number of soils