Study Programmes 2015-2016
GEOP0003-2  
Pedogenesis, international referential of classification and soil hydrodynamics
Duration :
36h Th, 36h Pr
Number of credits :
Master in environmental bioengineering (120 ECTS)6
Lecturer :
Gilles Colinet, Jean-Thomas Cornelis, Aurore Degré
Coordinator :
N...
Language(s) of instruction :
French language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Course contents :
The soil, as bio-physical and chemical reactor, interface between the atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere, appears and evolves from the parent material under the effect of the weather and the vegetation.
This course will deal with the various processes involved in the soil genesis.
We will start with the soil formation, organic matter dynamics, water dynamics and phases exchanges. Then we will talk about the cycles of soil evolution. In the end, we will discuss the soils classification systems (belgian, WRB-FAO, IUSS), and the main principles of soil management.
The originality of the course lays in the fact that the soil genesis, the chemical and physical aspects will be presented in parallel. We will develop the soil physics, the links between the liquid ans solid phases in saturated and unsaturated soils. The notions of anisotropy and the effect of water on the matrix itself will also be studied.
An important part of the course will consist in the building and instrumentation of a soil column using various probes in order to measure the main chemical and physical variables under controlled conditions.
Learning outcomes of the course :
At the end of the course, the student will be able to
- integrate various disciplines in view to build a diagnosis of the pedological processes and soils functionning. He/she will be able to assess the impact of human activities on it.
- distinguish and summerize concisely and precisely the laws that explain the functionning of the soil cover. he/she will use the relationship between factors, processes and properties
- master the basics of soil physics and the laws that govern water movment
- describe and predict the pedological prcesses that responsibles of soil evolution depending on the environment. He/She will apply the tools and concepts (like interpretation of soil analyses) presented during the course
- identify the formation processes in the major soil types (in natural or modified invironments), based on the lectures and field trips
- classify soil types unsing the soil typology
- describe the proporties and explain how the major soils in the World do function in the light of their agricultural potential
The course contributes to the development of students competencies and prepares them to the following professionnal situations
- conceive and dimension monitoring and production system in an agro-environmental context
- collect data, build experiments and interpret results
- build appropriate models in order to predict variables evolution, interpret results and draw conclusions from research
- Optimize and manage the flows between soil, water, fauna, plants and atmosphere
- conceive and put into prcactice remediation solutions in the soil plant atmosphere systems
Furthermore, the course will certify the following step of the competency reference system :
" realize an operationnal monitoring system and use it to quantify a system's performances"
 
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
GEOP0002-1 - Edaphology
HYDR0001-1 General Hydrology
GEOP0008-1 -  Sciences de la terre
GEOP0009-1 - Science du sol
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Magistral lectures , lab and fiel work
 
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
face to face
Recommended or required readings :
slideshows and scientific papers available on e-campus
Radcliffe and Simunek (2010) Soil physics with Hydrus. Modelling and applications. Book available at the library as well as at the "office des cours"
Duchaufour Ph. (1997), Abrégé de pédologie, Masson, Paris, 291 p. FAO (2001), Lecture notes on the major soils of the world, P. Driessen et al. ed., Rome, World Soil Resources Reports, 94, 334 p. FAO (2006), World reference base for soil resources 2006, Rome, World Soil Resources Reports, 103, 128 p.
Assessment methods and criteria :
Written and oral exams and reports


the final mark will be the weighted mean of the partial marks if all of them are equal or above 10/20. Otherwise, the lowest mark will be kept as final.
In case of second session, the parts for which the mark was equal or above 10/20 will not have to be presented again.
 
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
mandatory attendence to practicals (lab and field)
Contacts :
Jean-Thomas Cornelis Water soil plants exchanges BIOSE 081 62 25 38   Aurore Degré Water soil plants exchanges BIOSE 081/622187 aurore.degre@ulg.ac.be