NBIK14007U Soil Biology
Week 1: The role of soil organisms in the biosphere (lectures
and discussion classes): Physical and chemical complexity of soils
(from soil particles and aggregates to the landscape); life in
water films and soil pores; nutrient gradients.
Week 2-3: The diversity of soil organisms (lectures and
demonstrations): Bacteria; fungi; protozoa; nematodes; mites;
insects; millipedes; centipedes; isopods; enchytraeids; earthworms.
Week 4: The decomposition process (lectures and discussion
classes): The fast and slow pathway (bacterial and fungal based);
top-down and bottom up regulation of microbial biomass; energetics
of decomposition in soil; quality of the different types of organic
matter in soils.
Week 5: Aboveground-belowground interactions via the plant
(lectures and discussion classes): Plant nutrient acquisition from
soil; mycorrhiza; root exudates; herbivores above- and belowground;
signalling between plant roots and rhizosphere organisms.
Week 6: Diversity and functioning of soil communities (lectures and
discussion classes): The soil food web; taxonomic and functional
diversity; redundancy; resistance and resilience; diversity vs.
number of species and functional groups.
Week 7: Student presentation of experimental work and guest
lectures.
To provide an understanding of how the soil organisms drive and regulate the processes in the complex soil environment. This includes an understanding of 1) the huge diversity of soil organisms spanning from bacteria, fungi and protozoa to beetles and earthworms; 2) the factors governing this diversity and 3) the importance of organism interactions for the soil processes.
Knowledge:
Students will obtain knowledge and understanding of:
- the physical and chemical properties of soils and how the soil environment forms the basis for the organisms living there
- the important organism groups inhabiting the soil and their interaction with each other and with plants
- the impact of soil organisms on important processes in soil (e.g. decomposition, nitrogen transformations and plant growth
- methods and techniques used for investigating soil ecological issues
Skills:
Students should become able to:
- Describe and identify different important soil organisms (microfauna, mesofauna, macrofauna) to relevant taxonomic level
- Analyze the chemical composition of soils including the organic fraction, the inorganic ions, the association of these components to the soil particles, and how this association affects the turnover dynamics of the components.
- Analyze how soils develop differently in different biomes and how this dependency affects soil organisms.
- Work experimentally with soil and its organisms (this work includes formulation of hypotheses, planning and performing experiments, analysis and statistical testing of the data and reporting of the results).
Competences:
Students should become able to:
- Evaluate the effects of human activities on the soil environment as well as the functions soils provide as services to the surrounding environment and to the human society.
- Analyze, put into perspective, and criticize original research papers.
- Design, perform and critically analyze basic experiments addressing ecological and biological issues
- Perform effective written and oral presentation of acquired knowledge and ideas.
See Absalon.
- Category
- Hours
- Colloquia
- 14
- Exam
- 0,5
- Excursions
- 8
- Guidance
- 2
- Lectures
- 12
- Preparation
- 125,5
- Project work
- 30
- Theory exercises
- 14
- Total
- 206,0
As
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- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Oral examinationWritten assignmentFinal oral exam is based on curriculum and a written assignment based on the practical experimental project.
- Exam registration requirements
- In order to be allowed to the final exam, the student should have performed a satisfactory oral presentation based on a scientific paper.
- Marking scale
- 7-point grading scale
- Censorship form
- No external censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
In order to achieve the grade 12 the student must understand the interactions between processes occurring in soil, soil organisms, and the environment where the organisms live. Have a sufficient knowledge of the concepts defined in the curriculum of the course.
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- NBIK14007U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree Master
- Duration
- 1 block
- Placement
- Block 2
- Schedule
- A (Tues 8-12 + Thurs 8-17)
- Course capacity
- 24 students
- Continuing and further education
- Study board
- Study Board of Biology and Animal Science
Contracting department
- Department of Biology
Course responsibles
- Regin Rønn (3-8580855386767c78817678417e8841777e)
Lecturers
Søren Christensen, Flemming Ekelund, Mette Vestergård, Rasmus Kjøller