SOIL SCIENCE 702/802: CHEMISTRY OF SOILS ... SYLLABUS (revised Jan 1998)

Text: Sparks, 1995, Environmental Soil Chemistry, Academic Press

Supplemental: Cresser, Killham, and Edwards, 1993, Soil Chemistry and its applications, Cambridge

  • I. Introduction ..........................................................................Meeting 1
  • II. The Soil Solid Phase
  • A. Raw materials and weathering processes .....................Meeting 2
  • B. Soil building minerals ..................................................Meeting 3-5
  • 1. Crystal structure - basic mineralogy
  • 2. The phyllosilicates - structure and properties
  • 3. Other inorganic components
  • C. Organic components ....................................................Meeting 6
  • III. The Soil Solution Phase
  • A. Chemical Principals - a review ....................................Meeting 7
  • B. Soil Solution Characteristics ........................................Meeting 8
  • C. Precipitation/dissolution ..............................................Meeting 9,10
  • 1. Processes involved
  • 2. Three case studies
  • IV. First Exam ..........................................................................Meeting 11
  • V. The Soil/Solution Interface
  • A.Surface charge, double layer theory. .............................Meeting 12
  • B. Adsorption/desorption .................................................Meeting 13
  • VI. Surface exchange reactions ...................................................Meeting 14, 15
  • A. Cation exchange
  • B. Anion exchange
  • VII. Soil acidity ...........................................................................Meeting 16
  • A. What is pH and how is it measured?
  • B. The nature of soil acidity
  • C. What happens when you lime?
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  • VIII. Electrochemistry and the Soil ..............................................Meeting 17-20
  • A. Basic principles
  • B. Soil redox potential
  • C. Some practical implications
  • D. Chemistry of iron and manganese in the soil
  • IX. Second Exam ........................................................................Meeting 21
  • X. Soil and the Environment
  • A. Colloidal properties ......................................................Meeting 22
  • B. Soil Fertility
  • 1. An overview ........................................................Meeting 23
  • 2. A Quantity/Intensity approach to ion availability ....Meeting 24
  • 3. Potassium Chemistry ............................................Meeting 25
  • 4. Phosphorus Chemistry .........................................Meeting 26
  • 5. Biogeochemistry of soil nitrogen ...........................Meeting 27
  • 6. Biogeochemistry of soil sulfur ...............................Meeting 28
  • 7. Evaluation of fertility status ...................................Meeting 29
  • C. Pollution problems ........................................................Meeting 30
  • XI. Final Exam Meeting 31

    HOME, JAMES
    •

    Goals of the Course:

    1. Facilitate a basic understanding of soil chemical reactions and how the soil relates chemically with the environment. The volume of knowledge in soil chemistry is too vast to properly introduce in one semester. Therefore, we will only skim the surface and provide a basis for further study. To this end, one goal will be enhancement of students' ability to think and analyze problems. Progress in this area is monitored by the willingness to ask questions and participate in classroom discussions and those initiated on our Soil Chemistry list. Don't expect the instructor to fully answer all questions, because his knowledge is not infinite either. A thoughtful class will likely ask questions he cannot answer adequately. This may lead to a discussion and the students themselves doing some digging for information.

    2. Provide an appreciation for the historical role of soil as a medium of plant growth and extrapolate the accumulated information to a more general understanding of the role of soil chemistry in land management decisions: for example waste disposal on land. The traditional role of soils is for the production of food and fiber; the majority of literature and information is directed toward this end. This means that information of direct application to a problem may not be available and we will have to consider whether some apparently unrelated information can be applied to the problem at hand. This requires thought, but not at a level which should be inaccessible to advanced students. As much as possible, we will consider land management implications of the material presented.

    3. Familiarize students with literature in the field, as well as some of the more important work of the past century. As someone has said "those who do not know history are destined to repeat it". This is just as true in science as in the history of man. We have the tendency to believe that the only science worth knowing has been done in the last decade or two. Thus, some very good early work is too often ignored. Part of my role as instructor will be to familiarize students with foundational work upon which we base our current knowledge. To this end, I will be expecting the class to read some literature which you may consider archaic, but which has been important in the development of the field. We will, of course, also be reading some modern literature illustrating the current developments in the field. Do not expect the instructor to digest and summarize all developments. You will be expected to be reading on your own, particularly literature of specific interest to you.

    GRADING: homework, class/internet discussion participation 10% - Research paper 30% - Exams 60%

    Grading will be on a modified curve. Past history indicates that students can expect the following: A, >88; B, 74-88; C, 64-74; D, 50-64. + and - grades are assigned as intermediates except the grade of D- is not assigned. Few, if any, D or F grades are expected to be awarded, although they may be (and have been) earned. The A grade is seen as a reward for outstanding work, and must also be earned.

    RESEARCH PAPER

    A. Deadline dates:

  • 1. Clear topic with instructor by sixth week of semester (Feb 24)
  • 2. Paper outline due by eighth week of semester (Mar 10)
  • 3. First draft in first week of April (Apr 7)
  • 4. Review comments due Mid April (Apr 16)
  • 5. Final draft due last week of classes (May 5) OR EARLIER - NO EXCEPTIONS!

    • B. Process:

  • 1. Topic is of the student's choosing, but must be cleared with the instructor to shortcut potential problems.
  • 2. The paper must be professionally written and in good english. It will be graded on both content and style, including grammar. Words like effect/affect are always a problem. Make sure you know how to use them.
  • 3. A well documented research paper is expected; citation to one or two books or to lecture notes is inadequate. All citations must be complete and according to the style manual of your professional society (Biological Science style manual is preferred). The sciences do not use the style learned in English classes. If you have a question about the style to use, look at the research papers you are reading for your information.
  • 4. We will follow a process required for publication of a research paper, which involves peer review. The paper will be reviewed by one of your classmates, who is expected to spend some effort on this task. The review effort will be evaluated, and will be factored into the "homework, etc." grade. The reviewer will "buy in" to the final product if a poor review effort is given and the paper is assigned a poor grade. Reviewer instructions will be provided at the time papers are exchanged for review.
  • 5. Between about 8 and 20 double spaced, typed pages is usually required and adequate to cover a properly chosen topic.

    HOME, JAMES

    • EXAMS:

    SUPPLIMENTAL READING LIST

    The following books are suggestions for additional reading, not requirements; you will find, however, your comprehension of the material will be improved by doing at least some non-textbook reading. In the past they have been put on reserve, but are never used enough to warrant this. Please, however, do not take them out for extended periods, as others may want to make use of them.

  • McBride, 1994. Environmental Chemistry of Soils, Oxford
  • Tan, 1993, Principles of Soil Chemistry, 2nd Ed., Marcel Dekker
  • Dixon and Weed, 1989, Minerals in Soil Environments, Soil Sci. Soc. America
  • Sparks, 1989, Kinetics of Soil Chemical Processes, Academic Press
  • Wild, 1988, Russell's Soil Conditions and Plant Growth, 11th Ed., Longman
  • Davis and Hayes, 1986, Geochemical Processes at Mineral Surfaces, American Chemical Soc.
  • Harter, 1986, Adsorption Phenomena, Van Nostrand Reinhold
  • Sparks, 1986, Soil Physical Chemistry, CRC Press
  • Bohn, McNeal, & O'Connor, 1985, Soil Chemistry, 2nd Ed, Wiley Interscience
  • Sposito, 1984, The Surface Chemistry of Soils, Oxford Press
  • Lindsay, 1979, Chemical Equilibria in Soils, Wiley Interscience
  • Alexander, 1977, Soil Microbiology, 2nd Ed., Wiley Interscience
  • Bolt and Bruggenwert, 1976, Soil Chemistry. A. Basic Elements, Elsevier

    HOME, JAMES