Environmental Science Concentration:
Soil Science
Supporting Department: Plant Science
(College of Agriculture & Natural Resources)
Concentration objectives:
The objective of this concentration is to provide the student with an understanding of soils as a fundamental part of both natural and managed ecosystems. This will involve the understanding of soils as natural bodies, as media for plant growth, as foundations for structures and other improvements, as filters for waste, and as they function within the hydrological cycle. Students will be expected to master the techniques required to classify soils and to develop an appreciation of the global diversity and distribution of soils. Essential to these goals will be the acquisition of an understanding of principles governing soil genesis. Developing an understanding of the physical processes that control the movement of fluids within a porous media and the chemical reactions that occur within and among the solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of soils will enable students to better understand the edaphic factors that control terrestrial ecosystems and the influence that soils have on groundwater, surface water, and aquatic ecosystems.
Required course work:
Group I: |
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Soil Science Concentration
Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Cristian P. Schulthess
Dr. Schulthess is a soil and environmental chemist and an associate professor at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. He has been researching soils and teaching students about soils there since 1991.
Dr. Schulthess received a BS degree in chemistry in 1978 at the University of Rhode Island, a Federal Certificate of Capacity in chemistry in 1981 at CEPIA in Geneva, Switerland, an MS degree in environmental engineering in 1985 at the University of Delaware, and a PhD degree in soil chemistry in 1987 at the University of Delaware. His PhD research received the 1988 Emil Truog Soil Science Award from the Soil Science Society of America for “an outstanding contribution to soil science as evidenced by the PhD dissertation.”
For more information on Dr. Schulthess and his accomplishments, please visit: http://www.canr.uconn.edu/plsci/cps.html.
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| Students must pass ALL of the following courses: |
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PLSC 251
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PLSC
252 |
Soils (w/ laboratory component) |
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| PLSC 259C |
Soil Chemistry Components |
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Group II: |
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| In addition students must select 2 courses from the following: |
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| CE 320 |
Advanced Topics in Civil Engineering |
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| EEB 209W |
Soil Degredation & Conservation |
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| NRME 260 |
Soil and Water Management and Engineering |
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| PLSC 253 |
Soils, Environmental Quality, and Land Use |
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| PLSC 298 |
Special Topics |
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| PLSC 378 |
Advanced Soil Chemistry |
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Course Descriptions:
CE 320: Advanced Topics in Civil Engineering
Contact Department for semester. One-Three credits.
Lecture. This course is designed for special topics, or for individual students who desire to pursue investigations in a specialized field.
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EEB 209W: Soil Degredation & Conservation
(Also offered as EEB 309.) Three credits.
Prerequisite: ENGL 105 or 110 or 111 or 250. Recommended preparation: EEB 244 or equivalent.
Causes and consequences of soil degradation in agricultural and natural ecosystems, including salinization, erosion, nutrient impoverishment, acidification, and biodiversity loss. Historical perspective and current strategies of soil conservation.
NRME 260: Soil and Water Management and Engineering
Three credits.
Recommended preparation: NRME 211 or CE 265.
Floodplain management, erosion and erosion control, reservoir management, storm water control, watershed management, and on-site sewage treatment systems. Written technical reports, use of spreadsheets and field work required. Some field trips required
PLSC 251 & 252: Soils (w/ Laboratory)
Three credits.
Two class periods and one 2-hour laboratory period.
Prerequisite: CHEM 122, 127 or 129. Open to sophomores or higher. Introduction to the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils: the relationship between soils and the growth of higher plants.
PLSC 253: Soils, Environmental Quality, and Land Use
Three credits.
Three class periods plus required field trips.
Prerequisite: PLSC 250 (or 251 & 252) . Not open for credit to students that have passed PLSC 209.
Principles and procedures for using soils information in solving environmental and land use problems. The functions of soils in natural ecosystems and in the hydrologic cycle will be included.
PLSC 259C: Soil Chemistry Components
(Also offered as ENVE 259C.)
Four credits. Three class periods and one 2-hour computer laboratory period.
Prerequisite: CHEM 128 and 141. Recommended preparation: PLSC 251 and 252.
Basic concepts of the physical chemistry of soil constituents. Topics include soil atmospheres, soil solutions, soil organic matter, soil mineralogy, and surface characteristics and analysis
PLSC 298: Special Topics
Credits and hours by arrangement. May be repeated for credit with a change of topic.
Open only with consent of instructor.
Topics and credits to be published prior to the registration period preceding the semester offerings.
PLSC 378: Advanced Soil Chemistry
Three credits.
Lecture. Also offered as ENVE 303.
Physical chemical characteristics of soil minerals and soil organic matter, and their reactivity with compounds present in the aqueous and vapor phase. Topics include: modern spectroscopic surface analyses, soil organic matter and its interactions with metals, redox reactions, solubility, derivation of ion-exchange equations, and kinetics of soil reactions. |
