|
Soil Morphology and Mapping (PLNTSOIL 597T)
Instructor:
Peter C. Fletcher,
Certified Professional
Soil Scientist
and Soil Evaluator
Upon completion of this course, participants will
be proficient in describing, documenting, and interpreting a
broad spectrum of soil conditions on different New England landscapes.
There are 7 class sessions and each is held at a different location
throughout Southern New England (CT, MA, and RI). Classes typically
meet every other week and alternate between Fridays and Saturdays.
Each class session begins with a 2 hour lecture that is followed
by 4 hours of field exercises.
Key to the continuing success
of this course is the field site locations. Each emphasizes a
different New England landscape with unique landforms and varied
soil conditions. Participants will be given instruction on how
to read landscapes and understand the geologic processes that
formed them. Landscapes visited during this course will include:
glacial till (moraines, drumlins, etc.), glacial outwash (outwash
plains, eskers, kames, kettles, etc.), glacial lakebed silts
and clays (varved deposits, deltas, etc.), alluvial (floodplain,
meander scars, etc.), organic deposits (kettle bogs), and marine
sediments (sand dunes, beaches, and tidal marshes).
Participants will gain valuable field experience and will become proficient at:
- Describing soil profiles, and identifying
soil horizons and layers;
- Estimating soil textures,
percent sand, silt, and clay;
- Documenting soil colors
using the Munsell Color Book;
- Interpreting depth to
seasonal high water table using redoximorphic features; and
- Describing
soil structure and consistence.
Other topics covered will include hydric soil identification
and describing a deep hole for soil evaluation.
For those qualified, this course is offered as either an undergraduate or graduate level course. Participants will be expected to:
- Research and study available reference
materials prior to each class session
- Maintain a field
notebook documenting the field exercises
- Complete
a field project that is relevant to their work and/or interests
This course is offered every Spring Semester through the Department of Continuing Education at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. For information on how to register for this course contact Sue O’Neil at the UMass, Dept. of Continuing Education 413-545 2484.
|
