Biosphere, First part

Earth sciences

Physical Geography   1. Basic elements of geomorphology and geology 2. Structural geomorphology 3. Coastal geomorphology 4. Karstology and landscape planning 5. Basic elements of meteorology and climatology 6. Climate change : an introduction. Relations with the landscape planning

Climates, grounds, vegetation

1. Introduction (définitions, functions, threats, issues).
2. Soil composition (mineral and organic components, soil solution, soil atmosphere, soil biodiversity).
3. Soil properties (physical, chemical and physico-chemical).
4. Soil formation and evolution (pedogenetic factors and soil forming processes).
5. Notion of soil classification and cartography.
7. Elements of operational pedology (land evaluation, urban soil characterization, soil consideration in impact assessment, policy and methods for treatment of polluted soils).

Earth sciences

• Basic knowledge in geomorphology, meteorology and climatology
• Case study & analyse of some processes by various documents (pictures, maps, graphics...)

Climates, grounds, vegetation

On the basis of basic knowledge of soil at different level of perception, the objective of the course is to sensibilize students to the importance of soils within the ecosystem and to give them the essential awareness to manage them, in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. A chapter on operational pedology show concretely the interest to take into account soils in numerous topical domains. A field trip put emphasis on an approach based on observation and soil landscape analysis. Through the collective work, the student will mobilize and integrate knowledge from the course, earn new ones, train to the reading and interpretation of a soil map, practice literature search and acquire rigour required for writing report with scientific character.
At the end of the course, the student is expected to:
- grasp the causes-effects relationships between soil compounds, properties and behaviors ;
- deduce the main practical incidences for soil management ;
- understand factors and processes leading to the diversity of soils throughout the world ;
- decrypt a soil map in order to extract a given information ;
- draw a field pedological diagnosis, based on observation and earned knowledge.

Earth sciences

Geography, basic mathematics, biology, physics & chemistry

Climates, grounds, vegetation

Principles of chemistry, physics and biology.
Basic principles of mineralogy, petrography and geomorphology.

Earth sciences

• Lectures
• study cases

Climates, grounds, vegetation

Lectures (ppt material) + field trip (6h) + collective work (by 2 or 3, depending of the number of students)

Earth sciences

Face-to-face

Climates, grounds, vegetation

Classroom based teaching for lectures and field trip.
Personalized support on demand for collective work.

Earth sciences

 Notes available on USB key or on Moodle plateform if it's possible.

Climates, grounds, vegetation

A list of up-to-date bibliographic references and interesting web sites is supplied to students.

Earth sciences

Written exam with restitution and case study + topographic and geological profile to do.

Climates, grounds, vegetation

Collectif work (written report + oral presentation): 60%
Individual oral exam (the course matter is evaluated through the work): 40%
Remark: if the too high number of students doesn't enable a correct individual exam, the evaluation will be limited to the collectif work. 

Climates, grounds, vegetation

Attendance is recommended (no syllabus, but PowerPoint slides as medium for oral explanations).
Course materials (ppt and other documents) are supplied to students by mail in an electronical format before each lecture.

Earth sciences

Luc.Willems@hech.be
0496 93 75 08

Climates, grounds, vegetation

xavier.legrain@hech.be