Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (Volume 4 page 17)
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212-306 Processes in the Soil Environment

Year 3 Agriculture.

Credit points: 15

Coordinator: Associate Professor P. M. Chalk

Prerequisite: 212-201 Soil Resources

Contact: 72 hours of lectures, field demonstrations and laboratory-based classes.

Timetable: Second semester

Objectives:

By the completion of the subject, students should have developed an appreciation of the dynamic nature of the soil resource; have acquired detailed knowledge of chemical, physical and biological processes in the soil environment, particularly those which impact directly on plant growth; and have gained an understanding of how soils can be managed to optimise plant growth and minimise adverse effects on the environment.

Content:

Soil-plant relationships - Concepts in plant nutrition, mechanisms of nutrient uptake by roots, nutrient interactions; the rhizosphere, diffusion and mass flow, redox, carbon and nutrient dynamics; soil as a medium for plant growth, processes controlling nutrient availability with particular reference to nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and the micronutrients; assessment of nutrient availability including quantity/intensity relationships; processes of soil acidification and amelioration of soil acidity.

Soil biotechnology - Symbionts and their role in plant nutrition, role of soil microorganisms in the control of plant disease, microbially-derived plant growth regulators, inoculation, soil enzymes and biological inhibitors.

Soil physical processes - soil structure classification and effects on water and solute movement, leaching and model descriptions of solute transport, environmental implications

Assessment:

Up to three hours of written examination. Tests on the practical component of the subject may be given during the semester. Marks may also be alloted for assignments and practical reports. The weighting of each component will be published at the beginning of the semester.

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Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (Volume 4 page 17)

Status:          Official 1996
Date created:    Oct  9 1995
Last modified:   Oct  9 1995
Authorised by:   Academic Registrar
Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au

Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.