BIOL 3792 Soil Ecology - Morton Arboretum
Soil is one of the earth's most important resources, mediating plant productivity and community composition, and ecosystem functions. Understanding the relationships among the physical, chemical, and biological components of soil is crucial for assessing soil functions and predicting soil responses to global environmental changes in natural, urban and agricultural systems. The interactions between organisms, environments, and soil will be discussed in lecture and laboratory sessions. Students will have the opportunity to conduct soil experiments, review scientific papers related to this topic, as well as getting hands-on experience in soil science during field exercises.