AGRN 417: Soil Genesis & Classification
The study of soil genesis and classification deals primarily with (i) the formation and evolution of soils, (ii) their organization and categorization as natural bodies resulting from natural factors and processes, and (iii) their distribution throughout the world. Physical, chemical, mineralogical, and morphological soil characteristics are studied in the field and in the laboratory, and are then used to classify soils. These soil characteristics are the result of the processes (biological, chemical, physical) that have controlled the development of soils, and which are influenced by environmental factors which regulate their feasibility, rate, and extent. This course will provide you with tools that will enable you to interpret the messages found in the soil that tell us what has happened in the past and guide us toward soil management strategies that will be successful now.