SOIL203-25S2 (C) Semester Two 2025

Soil Fertility

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2025
End Date: Sunday, 9 November 2025
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2025
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 28 September 2025

Description

Basic soil properties; soil formation and soils in the New Zealand landscape; soil chemical and physical properties which are important to sustainable land use and environmental protection; assessment of soil nutrient availability, particularly with respect to forests.

Learning Outcomes

Students will develop an understanding of:
• soil properties which are important to sustainable land use and
environmental protection including soil formation
• soil formation and soils in the New Zealand landscape
• soil chemical and physical properties which are important to
sustainable land use and environmental protection
• soil nutrient availability
• nutrient cycling and assessment of soil fertility, particularly with
respect to forests.

Prerequisites

30 points from CHEM, GEOL, BIOL, FORE or by approval Chair Forestry Board of Studies

Restrictions

SOIL201

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage 
Mid-Term Test 15%
Literature Review 15%
Lab Attendance 10%
Lab Test 15%
End-of-Year Exam 45%

Textbooks / Resources

The following text is recommended for this course:
Soil Science: Sustainable Production and
Environmental Protection: R. G. McLaren and K. C. Cameron (2nd edition). The first edition of this text is also suitable.
Other important references will be available on restricted loan and/or selected sections
will be available on the SOIL203 Learn site.
The following three references are particularly useful:
• Webb, T. H., Wilson, A. D., 1995. A manual of land characteristics for evaluation of rural land.
Landcare Research science series no. 10: Landcare Research, Lincoln, Canterbury, New
Zealand.
• Bardgett, Richard D., 2005. The biology of soil: a community and ecosystem approach. New
York : Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Molloy, Les, Christie, Q. R., Hewitt, A. E., 1998. Soils in the New Zealand landscape: the living
mantle. New Zealand Society of Soil Science (2nd ed).

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,122.00

International fee $5,650.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

Limited Entry Course

Maximum enrolment is 60

For further information see School of Forestry .

All SOIL203 Occurrences

  • SOIL203-25S2 (C) Semester Two 2025
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