Study Programmes 2016-2017
GEOP0002-1  
Edaphology
Duration :
26h Th, 10h Pr
Number of credits :
Bachelor in bioengineering3
Master en agroécologie, à finalité3
Master in environmental bioengineering (120 ECTS)3
Lecturer :
Aurore Degré, Sarah Garré
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
Learning unit contents :
  • Basics of soil physics - Description of soil phases - Liquid/ solid relationship - Water flows in saturated and isotropic soils - Water flows in unsaturated soils - Anisotropy (basics) - Water effect on solide phase
  • Soil-plant interactions - Temporal and spatial scales - Soil moisture & nutrient cycles - Soil moisture & ecosystem structure - Stochastic soil moisture dynamics - Water balance - Plant water stress and strategies of water use - Application to natural ecosystems - Spatial scale issues 
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
After completing the course the student is expected to


  • understand the complex interplay between soil and plant with a focus on water
  • understand and use soil-plant models at various scales
  • apply this knowledge to caracterize water-controlled ecosystems
After completing the course, the student will be skilled to
  • describe a problem of environmental management and identify the scientific and technical questions it implies as well as the data necessary to solve them.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
GEOP0009-1    Science du sol
BIOL2044-1    Physiologie végétale
MATH0485-3    Mathématique générale: Analyse 2, calcul intégral
PHYS3036-1    Physique de l'environnement
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
Part I (Prof. Degré)
Classical courses and exercises.
Part II (Prof. Garré)
  • 1 introductory course
  • individual paper reading
  • online test preparing each round table  
  • round table discussions 
Excursion
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Lectures/reading classes : 28h Excursion : 8h
Recommended or required readings :
 / 
Assessment methods and criteria :
Written examination (100%)
Work placement(s) :
Organizational remarks :
The first part of this cours is given by Mrs Degré (soil physics). The second part by Mrs. Garré (applied edaphology). An excursion is planned illustrating both parts of the course.
Contacts :
Aurore Degré Department of Biosystems Engineering (BIOSE) 081 622187 aurore.degre@ulg.ac.be 
Sarah Garré Department of Biosystems Engineering (BIOSE) +32 (0)81.62.21.62 sarah.garre@ulg.ac.be