Soil Science Learning Outcomes

  1. Articulate a definition of soil and name some general properties of soil

  2. Define key terms in soil science: soil profile and horizons, weathering

  3. Identify key global functions of soil

  4. List four large categories of ecosystem services and give examples of ecosystem services performed by the soil

  5. Provide examples of soil degradation

  6. Recall the components of soil and their proportions in an ideal soil

  7. Identify the three soil core properties: texture, mineralogy and soil organic matter

  8. Differentiate between a rock and a mineral

  9. Define mechanical and biogeochemical weathering and give examples of each

  10. Rank the three soil separates according to size

  11. Define soil texture and interpret the soil textural triangle

  12. Give examples of how soil texture affects environmental characteristics

  13. Define specific surface area and describe its importance

  14. Differentiate between a primary and secondary mineral

  15. List and describe the common mineral types found in soil

  16. Describe why negative charge of clay minerals is important

  17. Describe how soil organic matter is formed and how it is decomposed

  18. Identify soil zones in Western Canada

  19. Understand how soil organic matter influences soil physical, chemical and biological properties

  20. Understand how agricultural management affects soil organic matter quantity and composition

  21. Identify the important soil physical characteristics that affect water movement in soils and water availability to plants

  22. Define soil structure, list the types of soil structure, and relate soil structure type to the downward rate of water movement; list the benefits of good soil structure

  23. Describe the relationship between bulk density and soil porosity

  24. Identify how soil compaction affects bulk density and soil porosity

  25. Differentiate between adhesive and cohesive forces

  26. Define saturation, field capacity, and permanent wilting point

  27. Define gravitational flow and capillary flow and identify which is at play in saturated vs. unsaturated soils

  28. Relate soil texture to water storage and water flow in soils

  29. Name and describe the five factors of soil formation

  30. Match the types of parent material with their mode of transport and deposition

  31. Associate soil textures and landforms with parent material

  32. Explain the interactions of the soil forming factors on pedogenesis

  33. Define pedogenesis

  34. List and provide examples for each of the four pedogenic processes

  35. Define eluviation and illuviation

  36. Explain how the intensity and type of pedogenic processes at play in any given soil are governed by the five soil forming factors

  37. Define major characteristics of A, B and C horizons and identify some diagnostic features associated with horizon suffixes

  38. List the 10 soil orders present in Canada

  39. Distinguish between the soil orders based on their diagnostic horizons

  40. Describe some of the important trophic interactions among biotic groups in soils

  41. Define the metabolic strategies of soil organisms in terms of how they obtain their carbon and energy

  42. List and describe the major types of microorganisms found in soil, including their size, distribution and taxonomy

  43. Define the rhizosphere and how it influences the community of soil microorganisms

  44. Explain the difference between biological and functional diversity in soil

  45. List some soil functions delivered by microorganisms