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Laboratory Manual for Introductory Soils

Laboratory Manual for Introductory Soils

Author(s): Ray R Weil

Edition: 10

Copyright: 2021

Pages: 232

Edition: 10

Copyright: 2021

Pages: 230

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This manual is designed to encourage the quantitative investigation of soil properties, as well as to give a “feel” for what soils are and how they behave. It provides opportunities to see, touch and manipulate soil in the lab and in the field to better understand pedological, biological, chemical, and physical aspects of one of nature’s most complex ecosystems. Many of the exercises introduce the basics of the scientific method and use of instrumentation. A unifying thread is the repeated use a “personal soil” sampled at the start of the course from a place with which the student has a personal relationship. By the end of the course students can interpret data from a dozen different analyses for land use and soil management implications. With more than enough exercises to fill a 15-week semester, this lab manual gives users the flexibility to choose investigations most in line with their interests and available equipment.

Each of the 21 exercises includes:

  • Measurable learning objectives.
  • An introduction that puts the activity into context.
  • A detailed list of required materials.
  • A step-by-step procedure with one column giving procedural steps and the other column providing additional information and explaining why these steps are undertaken.
  • Graphic illustrations to clarify the procedures or concepts.
  • A hand-in section with places for student observations as well as thought questions.

Acknowledgments
Preface
About the Author
General Objectives of this Study of Soil Science
Soil Science Lab Safety Guidelines
Suggested Schedule of Laboratory Exercises

Exercises
1 Chemical Weathering of Plant Nutrients in Rocks and Minerals
2 Parent Materials For Soils: Rock and Minerals
3 Some Field Skills: Texture “By Feel” and Color by Munsell Charts
4 Using a Pit to Study the Soil Profile
5 Use of Soil Survey Information in Land Planning
6 Getting to Know a Catena in the Field
7 Soil Texture: Mechanical Analysis of Particle Size
8 Soil Density, Porosity and Structural Stability
9 Investigating Capillary Rise
10 Effect of Soil Composition on Percolation and Retention of Water
11 Using a Tensiometer to Monitor Soil Moisture Status
12 Effect of Cations on Flocculation
13 Cation Exchange Properties of Soils
14 Soil Acidity and Alkalinity (pH)
15 Microbial Activity Related to Decomposition and Nitrogen Transformation
16 Buried Slide for Observation of Soil Microorganisms
17 Determination of Soil Organic Matter Content
18 Active Fraction Carbon and Soil Health
19 Movement of Phosphorus and Nitrogen in Soil
20 Test for Plant-Available Phosphorus in Soil
21 Simulated Wetland Soil Mesocosms (Winogradsky Columns)

Appendices
A Obtaining a Representative Soil Sample for Analysis
B Water Needed to Bring Soil to 60% Saturation for Aerobic Incubations
C Guide to Estimation of Available Water Holding Capacity Based on Soil Texture
D Determination of Soil Moisture Content
E Using Moles and Moles of Change
F Using a Spectrophotometer
G Soil Characterization Project

Ray R Weil

Ray Weil is Professor of Soil Science at the University of Maryland, College Park and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York.  Before coming to Maryland, he earned a BS at Michigan State University, served in Ethiopia as a US Peace Corps Volunteer, earned a MS degree at Purdue University, managed a 500-acre organic farm in North Carolina and earned a Ph.D. in Soil Science at Virginia Tech. He is a leader in researching and promoting the adoption of sustainable agricultural systems in both industrial and developing countries. His research focuses on organic matter management for enhanced soil quality and nutrient cycling for water quality and sustainability. Ray teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, including the Fundamentals of Soil Science course for which this Lab Manual was developed.

In addition to numerous scientific papers, Ray’s books include Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture, which he co-edited with Fred Magdoff, and the most widely used textbook in soil science, The Nature and Properties of Soils, which he has authored or coauthored since 1995. He is a Fellow of both the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy and twice been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to support his work in developing countries.

One hallmark of his professional work is the integration of his teaching and research programs so that each one benefits from the other. His research program combines three interrelated areas: 1) Organic Matter Management for Soil Quality; 2) Sustainable Cropping Systems; and 3) Soil Management for Improved Nutrient Cycling and Water Quality. His soil quality program has achieved international recognition for its innovative efforts to develop a soil quality index and methods for the rapid, routine assessment of soil quality indicators, including aggregation, soil microbial biomass, and a fraction of soil organic carbon called POXC (permanganate oxidizable carbon). The latter is a leading soil health indicator used by scientists around the world. His research probes fundamental relationships between soil organic matter management and soil ecological functions. His research on nutrient cycling in agroecosystems has focused on nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. In addition to studying the interaction between crop management and soil quality, Weil has worked to develop new soil management practices, especially new cover crop systems, with the potential to improve profitability and reduce environmental impacts while helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Ray lives with his wife, Trish, in Hyattsville, Maryland. He enjoys gardening, mountain climbing, backpacking, and commuting by bicycle from his home to the University of Maryland in nearby College Park.

This manual is designed to encourage the quantitative investigation of soil properties, as well as to give a “feel” for what soils are and how they behave. It provides opportunities to see, touch and manipulate soil in the lab and in the field to better understand pedological, biological, chemical, and physical aspects of one of nature’s most complex ecosystems. Many of the exercises introduce the basics of the scientific method and use of instrumentation. A unifying thread is the repeated use a “personal soil” sampled at the start of the course from a place with which the student has a personal relationship. By the end of the course students can interpret data from a dozen different analyses for land use and soil management implications. With more than enough exercises to fill a 15-week semester, this lab manual gives users the flexibility to choose investigations most in line with their interests and available equipment.

Each of the 21 exercises includes:

  • Measurable learning objectives.
  • An introduction that puts the activity into context.
  • A detailed list of required materials.
  • A step-by-step procedure with one column giving procedural steps and the other column providing additional information and explaining why these steps are undertaken.
  • Graphic illustrations to clarify the procedures or concepts.
  • A hand-in section with places for student observations as well as thought questions.

Acknowledgments
Preface
About the Author
General Objectives of this Study of Soil Science
Soil Science Lab Safety Guidelines
Suggested Schedule of Laboratory Exercises

Exercises
1 Chemical Weathering of Plant Nutrients in Rocks and Minerals
2 Parent Materials For Soils: Rock and Minerals
3 Some Field Skills: Texture “By Feel” and Color by Munsell Charts
4 Using a Pit to Study the Soil Profile
5 Use of Soil Survey Information in Land Planning
6 Getting to Know a Catena in the Field
7 Soil Texture: Mechanical Analysis of Particle Size
8 Soil Density, Porosity and Structural Stability
9 Investigating Capillary Rise
10 Effect of Soil Composition on Percolation and Retention of Water
11 Using a Tensiometer to Monitor Soil Moisture Status
12 Effect of Cations on Flocculation
13 Cation Exchange Properties of Soils
14 Soil Acidity and Alkalinity (pH)
15 Microbial Activity Related to Decomposition and Nitrogen Transformation
16 Buried Slide for Observation of Soil Microorganisms
17 Determination of Soil Organic Matter Content
18 Active Fraction Carbon and Soil Health
19 Movement of Phosphorus and Nitrogen in Soil
20 Test for Plant-Available Phosphorus in Soil
21 Simulated Wetland Soil Mesocosms (Winogradsky Columns)

Appendices
A Obtaining a Representative Soil Sample for Analysis
B Water Needed to Bring Soil to 60% Saturation for Aerobic Incubations
C Guide to Estimation of Available Water Holding Capacity Based on Soil Texture
D Determination of Soil Moisture Content
E Using Moles and Moles of Change
F Using a Spectrophotometer
G Soil Characterization Project

Ray R Weil
Ray R Weil

Ray Weil is Professor of Soil Science at the University of Maryland, College Park and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Earth Institute at Columbia University, New York.  Before coming to Maryland, he earned a BS at Michigan State University, served in Ethiopia as a US Peace Corps Volunteer, earned a MS degree at Purdue University, managed a 500-acre organic farm in North Carolina and earned a Ph.D. in Soil Science at Virginia Tech. He is a leader in researching and promoting the adoption of sustainable agricultural systems in both industrial and developing countries. His research focuses on organic matter management for enhanced soil quality and nutrient cycling for water quality and sustainability. Ray teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, including the Fundamentals of Soil Science course for which this Lab Manual was developed.

In addition to numerous scientific papers, Ray’s books include Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture, which he co-edited with Fred Magdoff, and the most widely used textbook in soil science, The Nature and Properties of Soils, which he has authored or coauthored since 1995. He is a Fellow of both the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy and twice been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to support his work in developing countries.

One hallmark of his professional work is the integration of his teaching and research programs so that each one benefits from the other. His research program combines three interrelated areas: 1) Organic Matter Management for Soil Quality; 2) Sustainable Cropping Systems; and 3) Soil Management for Improved Nutrient Cycling and Water Quality. His soil quality program has achieved international recognition for its innovative efforts to develop a soil quality index and methods for the rapid, routine assessment of soil quality indicators, including aggregation, soil microbial biomass, and a fraction of soil organic carbon called POXC (permanganate oxidizable carbon). The latter is a leading soil health indicator used by scientists around the world. His research probes fundamental relationships between soil organic matter management and soil ecological functions. His research on nutrient cycling in agroecosystems has focused on nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. In addition to studying the interaction between crop management and soil quality, Weil has worked to develop new soil management practices, especially new cover crop systems, with the potential to improve profitability and reduce environmental impacts while helping to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Ray lives with his wife, Trish, in Hyattsville, Maryland. He enjoys gardening, mountain climbing, backpacking, and commuting by bicycle from his home to the University of Maryland in nearby College Park.