Course Introduction and "The Dust Bowl"....

1. We covered course polices and the syllabus.
2. We discussed John Deere and the advancement of the steel plow.
3. We discussed the high fertility and prevalence of Mollisols in the midwest.
4. Students participated in a brief discussion on John Steinbeck and The Grapes of Wrath.
5. Viewed the following video on The Dust Bowl:

Final lab update to round out the semester

Hi everyone,

Just a few reminders. On May 3, we will be taking an extended field trip to Coweeta hydrological station. We will leave promptly at 12:45 from the student services parking lot and return sometime around 6:00. This will be our last lab meeting, so by May 3, before we leave for the trip, you will need to have submitted to me three outstanding assignments:
1. a completed lab report (typical format)for the self directed site truthing exercise from earlier in the semester. This should include your state soil test results and you should briefly discuss the results.
2. a completed lab report for today's biological stream assessment exercise. For those of you who have chain saw training today, a link to the document we will use is posted below. The last three pages apply to the biological portion of the assessment. There is also a link to a document outlining the procedure you should use to accomplish this exercise.You may complete this exercise on your own and submit a lab report based on your activities. You need to identify the creek you assessed and describe where it is. You will need a fine net and a basin to catch and count aquatic invertebrates. You will have to stir up the bottom of the creek holding the next downstream to catch anything that is present. Place in a shallow basin with a small amount of water and identify and count what you have found. You should collect and count about 5 samples for a 50 ft. stretch (1 collection every 10 ft.) and pool the results. Please take care to return anything you catch to the waterway.

Biological stream assessment document-

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-v7kZfpcP6GN2NhMGJjOTctY2U4NS00OWI0LTg0YzktMDYwMTQ0MmZhMDYw&hl=en&authkey=CPHVvNMB

Kicknetting procedure-

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-v7kZfpcP6GYzA3ZTUzZDMtZTFhNy00NDNiLWFiZjgtZDEyMjk4YTZjZGNj&hl=en&authkey=CPmys_QO

3. a completed lab practical exam. Also due at the beginning of the class period before we leave for Coweeta on May 3. Below is a link to a digital copy of the lab practical in case you prefer to type in your answers.

Lab Practical Exam-

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1q3KXQrp4D2EhjrBNKwE8bXh3L6wiLt3FW9Gr1t7X4lc/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJnejbIG

Please let me know if anyone has any questions as we finish up a great semester!

Richard

Hydrology: Wetlands

Lab Schedule update

Last week, (4-12) lab was canceled due to the mandatory awards ceremony at 1:00. The Haywood waterways tour has been rescheduled to this week (4-19). Your Lab practical will still be distributed this week (4-19). On Apr. 26, we have lab to make up for the 12th and return to Harmon Den for the biological portion of the stream assessment. May 3 will still be the trip to Coweeta hydrological station. We will leave promptly from the student services parking lot at 12:45. Both lab sections will attend and we will return no later that 6:00. This will be our last lab meeting and your lab practical will be due before we depart for Coweeta on May 3.

Quick note on the lab practical, you will have two weeks to complete it and you can expect at least one question from each lab exercise. You will be expected to do your own work and demonstrate that you have gained practical knowledge from the exercises. You will have two weeks and you can use any notes, handouts etc. from the labs or other available resources, so be prepared for questions related to anything we did in lab. The lab practical will be worth 100 of your 300 "Final Exam" points.

Almost there guys, keep up the good work!

Kissimmee River Mini-Case Study and Hole in the Donut Case Study

Stream Hydrology Continued....

Hydrology continued...

Some resources...

USGS realtime stream flow data

Read this brief case study for next time.

Broad Introduction to Hydrology

Introduction to Hydrology

The World of Rivers.

Soils Taxonomy....

In case you missed it.....

Dirt the movie can be watched in its entirety click here.

DON'T FORGET EXAM THIS WEDNESDAY 3/23 COVERS NUTRIENTS LECTURE 1,2, AND 3

Lab Update 3-15-2011

Sorry it's been a bit since the last post. Since then, we dug a soil pit and measured horizon depths, did field texture analyzes on the separate horizons. Results were similar to what was expected based on the Haywood County Soil Survey.

We discussed and hunted for soil biota, using a berlese funnel to flush soil organisms, mounting slides with a bacterial rinse and observed what was present in the soil using light and compound microscopes. We were able to observe soil bacteria, fungal mycellium and individual fungal hyphae as well as various small insect larvae and small worm-like organisms. Take home message: soil is teeming with life which we cannot see with the naked eye.

Today, we discussed some basic geology, rock formation processes and some of the common types of rock. We handled several common types and learned to recognized some basic characteristics of each as well as discussed some common types of rock found in Haywood county.

The powerpoint presentations from the soil biota lab and the basic geology lab are posted below. Next week, we will take a tour of some sites around Haywood county considering basic geology.

The Final Soils Lecture...

Review for Exam II on 3/23 has been posted. The exam will just cover the nutrient topic materials we have covered over the last few weeks.

Soil Nutrients Part II

Lab Feb. 22

This week in lab, we discussed the soil test report and how to determine the area of an irregular shaped plot. Each group measured the size of their prospective sites, and calculated lime and fertilizer applications based on recommendations similar to those in the soil report.

I realize that some student were frustrated with the multiple conversions and calculations required to determine the proper rates, but a little practice is all that is required. What I would mostly like for you to take away from the lab is how to calculate the area of a plot and how the test report recommendations are related to that area. You should be aware of the N-P-K number on fertilizer products and appreciate the difference between pounds of fertilizer and pounds of each mineral contained within.

For the lab report this week, make sure to describe how you determined the area of your space and the results of all calculations.

Soil Nutrients Part I

The next few lectures will expand upon the information in Chapter 4 of your text.

LAB Feb. 8, 2011

This week in lab we finished the soil physical properties lab exercises. You should now be familiar with the basic procedures to determine soil texture, bulk density, percent pore volume and soil moisture.

A lab report for these exercise will be due Tuesday Feb. 22, the next period we meet. Remember to include everything you did, all data you collected, your results (including any equations) and why it matters in your area of study. You do not need to include the soil moisture results, but you should mention the basic procedure in the methods.

Next weeks lab assignment is self directed. You must visit your management site or choose another site to collect soil samples and carry out a field texture analysis. You can visit the NCDA soils division web site (http://www.ncagr.gov/agronomi/sthome.htm) for the soil sample submission form. Your boxed sample and completed paperwork can be brought to lab on Feb. 22, or delivered to Jenny Carver in Natural Resources Dept. main office. No lab report will be due until after your test report comes back so make sure to keep your notes from the visit.

Happy Diggin!

Soil and Water

This presentation roughly correlates to Chapter 3 in your text.



The Study Guide has been updated.

Soil Properties 2

This presentation covers material related to Chapter 8 of your textbook.

Good Subsoiler Video....

LAB Feb. 1, 2011

For lab this week, we reviewed soils sampling techniques, discussed the soil test report and soil texture. We also collected and prepared soil samples for submission. We carried out a field soil texture analysis and began the rest of the soil physical properties exercises which will be continued next week.

The only assigned homework is to visit the site ( http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/publications/Ag-614.pdf ) and briefly review the "Understanding the Soil Test Report" document paying most attention for now to what the different codes for each analysis refer to. (ex. CEC stands for Cation Exchange Capacity)

There is no written home work to hand in however, like all weeks, there will be a lab report due on Tuesday focused on the soil sampling and field texture analysis exercises.

This coming week, we will continue the soil physical properties exercise. See you all then!

Soil Properties 1

GOOGLE PRESENTATIONS: Try holding shift key down and then refreshing your browser. Should clear cookies.

How soil horizons form:

1. Additions: materials that are transported into the location where a soil is forming. The addition of calcium carbonate through the deposition of dust.
   
2. Transformation: chemical or biological alteration of materials. Breakdown of organic matter into humus is an example.
   
3. Translocation: the movement of soil-forming materials through the developing soil profile. The transport of organic material by burrowing animals is an example.
   
4. Removal: soil forming materials that are completely removed from the soil profile. Easily dissolved elements like calcium carbonate can be removed from the soil profile under rainy climates.

Intro to Soil Properties

Introduction soil function (and some properties).

Some additional notes.

1. Soil Texture Triangle (Practice with this animation)
2. Keep in mind huge surface area of many soils (see example in Chapter 2 for 1 gram of soil).
3. Read Chapter 3 for next time.
4. If you still cannot see the slides log into the e-mail you used to accept the blog invitation at least once, log out and then try again. Some folks created g-mail accounts, but did not actually ever log back into the new accounts.
5. EXAM 1 has been rescheduled for Wednesday February 16th. Notebooks will be due at the beginning of class.
6. Location of Link to Farmland Preservation GIS model mentioned in class.

LAB Jan. 25, 2011

Finally off to a good semester! Just a brief review and reminder.

For this week's lab exercise, we worked through the Haywood County Soil Survey hard copy and visited the online Soil Survey from NRCS. We introduced soil testing as well as discussed the weekly lab report. After these exercises, you should know what information is available and be able to find that information in both NRCS Soil Survey formats as well as understand basic soil sampling procedures.

Due next week is (1.) your completed Haywood County Soil Survey exercise questions, (2.) the soil sampling document study questions, and (3.) a lab report with the results section being a brief summary of the assigned reading on soil sampling. Remember, the discussion section should focus on what you learned from the whole exercise and why it is matters for your particular area of study.

See you Tuesday!
Richard

Lecture 1 - The Nature and Function of Soils

Presentation is an introduction by NRCS to soils.


Sinkhole caused by frost protection of citrus, strawberries and vegetables.


Global Introduction to Soils

Some images of the Hole in the Donut Restoration Project.

Briefly looked at Haywood County Water Resources Map.