Field Trip

Field trip to Reppun Farm.

Research

Anamox research.

Soil Analysis

In the soils lab

Soil sampling

Anamox field sampling.

GIS and soils mapping

Maui county soils map

Soil Research

Sediment core for anamox research.

What is Soil Science?

Soil science focuses on understanding, managing and improving soil and water resources. It involves many disciplines and deals with topics encompassing soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties as they relate to the use and management of soils.

Why study soil science?

Soils play a crucial role in sustaining life acting as an interface between the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Soils participate in global cycles of rock weathering, atmospheric gas dynamics, water retention and transfer, and the function of terrestrial ecosystems. At a smaller scale, soils retain water and life-giving oxygen gas for use by growing plant roots. At microscopic scales, soils provide a home for a plethora of organisms that mediate complex biochemical reactions responsible for the storage and cycling of carbon and essential plant nutrients. In short, soils perform five basic ecological functions critical to sustaining life on earth: 1) they are the principle medium for plant growth, 2) they regulate water supplies, 3) they are home to a plethora of living organisms (an ecosystem in their own right), 4) they recycle raw materials and waste products, 5) they moderate the atmosphere, and 6) they serve as an engineering medium for human built structures. A rapidly growing population with an increasingly heavy impact on terrestrial ecosystems urgently requires a new generation of people with a good understanding of the myriad and complex functions of soil to ensure the wise management of our terrestrial resources for future generations.


TPSS 304 | NREM 304
Fundamentals in Soil Science

Other soils courses at CTAHR

Undergraduate Level Courses

Graduate Level Courses