English title:
Soil fertility and soil ecology in organic agriculture
Course ID:
933308
ECTS credits:
3,0
Title in native language:
Soil fertility and soil ecology in organic agriculture (in Eng.)
Soil fertility and soil ecology in organic agriculture (in Eng.)
Term Semester:
Spring/Summer
Instruction language(s):
English
Course content:
Introduction Soil fertility: Definition and components, significance in organic farming
Effects of organic farming on the soils: Results of comparative experiments
Selected components of soil fertility and assessment methods
Exercise and practice: Practice in field, application of methods, protocol
Effects of organic farming on the soils: Results of comparative experiments
Selected components of soil fertility and assessment methods
Exercise and practice: Practice in field, application of methods, protocol
Learning outcomes:
Graduates of this course can
- Identify components of soil fertility (“soil functions”) that are significant in organic farming
- List and apply methods to assess these functions
- Understand dependence of soil functions on soil properties
- Understand interactions between soil minerals, soil organic matter, soil organisms and plants: feedback loops, soil food web, "microbial loop", "active nutrient mobilisation" by plants
- Deduce site-specific particularities and weak points of soil functions
- Understand how they are affected by soil management
- Develop management methods to further soil functions under site-specific conditions
- Identify components of soil fertility (“soil functions”) that are significant in organic farming
- List and apply methods to assess these functions
- Understand dependence of soil functions on soil properties
- Understand interactions between soil minerals, soil organic matter, soil organisms and plants: feedback loops, soil food web, "microbial loop", "active nutrient mobilisation" by plants
- Deduce site-specific particularities and weak points of soil functions
- Understand how they are affected by soil management
- Develop management methods to further soil functions under site-specific conditions
Teaching and learning methods:
Exams after the excursion and field training and sending the protocolls. Please register in BOKUonline!
Exam method:
Oral exam. Prerequisite is the participation in the field excursion and exercise with submission of a protocol.
Organisation: University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Country:
Austria
Acronym:
BOKU
ERASMUS+ code:
A WIEN03
Teaching period summer semester:
22. Feb 2021 - 30. Sep 2021
Teaching period winter semester:
13. Oct 2020 - 21. Feb 2021
University website: