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Erosion
Soil erosion is a global problem. Each year, erosion costs billions of dollars in loss of land productivity, damage from soil sediment deposition and subsequent restoration costs, and harm to plant, animal, and human health due to air and water pollution. This lesson will consider the impacts of erosion at local, regional, national, and international levels. It will discuss how erosion occurs and the main factors that contribute to erosion. In addition, the different types of water and wind erosion will be discussed.
The lesson is written to target educational needs of lower level undergraduate students and is open for use by the public and educational institutions. Depending on the goals/objectives of a course, training, workshop, part or all sections of the lesson could be used.
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Erosion Control Measures
This lesson will discuss erosion control practices in the agricultural and construction environments. The impact of erosion management practices will be demonstrated with exercises using a USLE calcul...
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Manure Phosphorus and Surface Water Protection I: Basic Concepts of Soil and Water P
This lesson focuses on the process of eutrophication; the relationship between land application of manure and soil phosphorus (P) dynamics on P delivery to surface waters; and on the P dynamics in ...
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Manure Phosphorus and Surface Water Protection II: Field and Management Factors
This lesson describes how source factors, including soil characteristics and management practices, affect phosphorus (P) delivery to surface waters; and also discusses how crop producers can control...
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Manure Phosphorus and Surface Water Protection III: Transport Factors
This lesson addresses transport factors that may contribute to phosphorus (P) delivery to surface waters. Erosion, runoff, subsurface flow, drainage, and distance to surface water are the main fact...
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Manure Phosphorus and Surface Water Protection IV: Assessment of the Risk of Agricultural P Delivery
Addresses the assessment of potential for P delivery to surface waters resulting from the interaction of the source and transport factors addressed in Lessons II and III. The basic concepts and appl...
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Soil Genesis and Development, Lesson 1 - Rocks, Minerals, and Soils
This lesson identifies some common rocks and minerals and how they influence soil formation.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Lesson 2 - Processes of Weathering
This lesson identifies the factors of weathering processes and how they influence soil formation.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Lesson 3 - Soil Forming Factors
This lesson identifies the five major soil forming factors and discusses how they influence soil development.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Lesson 4 - Soil Profile Development
This lesson discusses the processes controlling soil formation and how these processes relate to the characteristics of a soil profile.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Lesson 5 - Soil Classification and Geography
This lesson discusses the characteristics of the 12 soil orders defined by the USDA soil classification system, the major factors involved with their formation, and their geographic distribution acros...
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Soil Genesis and Development, Lesson 6 - Global Soil Resources and Distribution
This lesson discusses soil resources and functions at the global scale.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Scenario 1 - Agroecosystem Soil, Food and Fiber
This case study addresses how soil formed in different geographical locations of the world influences food and fiber production.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Scenario 2 - Biosolid Addition and Soil Formation
This case study addresses where geographically soil addition of municipal organic wastes occurs and how this addition affects soil profile development and the use of soils as a sustainable resource.
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Soil Genesis and Development, Scenario 3 - Soils and Salts
This case study addresses how soil formed in different parts of the landscape influences productivy in the broad sense, of both economic and non-economic flora and fauna.
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Soils - Part 10: The Scientific Basis for Making Fertilizer Recommendations
The Scientific Basis for Making Fertilizer Recommendations: In this lesson, you will gain an understanding of the history of fertilizer use and the ideas behind fertilizer recommendations. Three major...
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Soils - Part 1: The Origin and Development of Soil
(How Soil Gets a Life and a Name)
In this lesson, you will gain an understanding of the five soil forming factors and will be able to describe how each influences soil development. You will learn to identify common parent materials, d...
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Soils - Part 2: Physical Properties of Soil and Soil Water
This lesson will help you understand the major components of the physical properties of soil. You will learn such terms as texture, aggregation, soil structure, bulk density, and porosity as it relate...
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Soils - Part 3: Soil Organic Matter
In this lesson, you will learn such terms as organic, soil organic matter, nutrient, decomposition, humus, compost, and soil structure. In addition, you will be able to predict the effect of land uses...
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Soils - Part 4: Soil pH
Soil pH is defined and its implications for crop production are described in this lesson. How are soil pH and buffer pH determined? How are these assessments used in lime recommendations? The factors ...
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Soils - Part 5: Nitrogen as a Nutrient
In this lesson, you will be able to describe the forms of nitrogen found in the soil. The nitrogen cycle and how nitrogen is lost in the environment will be thoroughly discussed. Forms of nitrogen uti...
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Soils - Part 6: Phosphorus and Potassium in the Soil
This lesson explains the importance of phosphorus fixation and describes methods for applying phosphorus and the advantages (and disadvantages) of each. It also describes the three forms of potassium ...
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Soils - Part 7: Soil and Plant Considerations for Calcium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Zinc, and other Micronutrients
The 16 essential elements for plant growth and the relative quantities of each needed by plants to grow normally will be discussed in this lesson. You will learn to identify the source of specific nut...
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Soils - Part 8: Characteristics of Fertilizer Materials
The various characteristics of fertilizer materials being sold on the market today will be discussed. You will learn to identify some of the consequences of using each type of fertilizer material and ...
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Soils - Part 9: Fundamentals of Soil Testing
The major emphasis in this lesson is soil testing and understanding the procedures needed to take a representative soil sample. You will understand the term variability, how it affects soil tests, and...
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