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Jun 18, 2025
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AG 580 - Soil Ecology
Exploring Soil as a Living Network
Credits: 4
Prerequisites: Academic Background Required: 60 undergraduate credits completed Academic background recommended: general biology, ecology, and microbiology
Delivery mode: Online
This course will focus on the comprehensive study of soil biology with an emphasis on soil microbiology. The microcosm of the soil has outward effects on the macrocosm of the agro-ecosystem. In regenerative organic agriculture, establishing and maintaining healthy biology in the soil is a critical component in farm management. Plant health depends on soil health. The foundation for maintenance of healthy soil is knowledge of the composition and dynamics of soil organisms. From the agricultural perspective, this knowledge is applied in management practices that enhance a diverse and balanced soil biota. We will study how plants interact with the soil life from the level of root colonization with beneficial organisms, to how plants support diverse microbial partnerships in the rooting zone, and outwards to the ways macroscopic soil organisms affect the plant-microbial system. We will introduce some methods for studying community complexity, diversity, and distributions of soil microbiomes, such as metagenomic and multi-omics approaches. Bioremediation, inoculation, and other ways to regenerate soil communities in agroecosystems will be investigated.
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