Agronomy 260 Soils and Environmental Quality

Spring Semester 2003

Description	Role of soils in environmental quality and natural resources management. Emphasis on soil erosion and conservation, land reclamation, water quality, pollution, and environmental planning.
Credits	3 credits (2 EI, 1 PSI, 1 CI)
Time & Location	Lecture: Laboratory:	MW noon, 171 Durham M 3-6 pm, Kildee 105 (section 1) -- may change Th 1-4 pm, Lagomar WO282 (section 2) -- may change
Instructors	Lee Burras 1126G Agron Lburras@iastate.edu		Beth Larabee 1017 Agron blarabee@iastate.edu		Brian Schmid 1017 Agron blarabee@iastate.edu
Instruction	Traditional lectures with discussion strongly encouraged. Lectures will use both powerpoint and the chalkboard. Laboratories will be split between field trips and report development and writing.
Grading	Examination 1 Examination 2 Final Examination Quizzes & attendance Problem sets Field trips Land Use Report			Wednesday, February 19 Wednesday, April 09 Friday, May 09 (tentative) “Your best perturbation”		20% 20% 30% 10% 15% 20% 15% 100%
	Please see page 3 to see how overall scores will be calculated. Late work is penalized. Examinations 1 and 2 will have objective and short answer questions, including calculations as well as anything from the laboratory and field trips. Two discrete versions of the final examination will be given. One version will consist of 60 objective questions. The other version will be like exams 1 and 2 but longer. Each student will select the version he/she prefers. Each examination is cumulative. The final exam may be taken early (details to be given in dead week). Past final exams have proven more difficult (i.e., scores have been lower) than exams 1 and 2. Quizzes will be used to initiate discussions as well as to document attendance. No make-up quizzes will be given. Expectations for the problem sets, field trips and land use report are given separately. Please note, your TA has sole responsibility and authority for land use plan scores and field trip scores.
	The grading scale is A = 100-92%; B = 91-82%, C = 81 –60%, F <60%.
	If you have questions about this page, please see me. I wish each of you the best of luck.

Agronomy 260 Soils & Environmental Quality

Spring Semester 2003

Lee Burras

Table 1: Tentative Syllabus

Meeting Time	Topic
Monday, January 13	Introduction
Wednesday, January 15	Is Iowa doing its share to feed the world?
Monday, January 20	Holiday – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Wednesday, January 22	Is Iowa doing its share to feed the world?
	Problem set 1 – Membership in a professional society
Monday, January 27	History of soil use and degradation
Wednesday, January 29	History of soil use and degradation
	Laboratory – Creating Maps Problem set 2 - Conversions
Monday, February 03	Soil properties & quality
Wednesday, February 05	Soil properties & quality
	Laboratory- Finding and using data Problem set 3 – Conversions, part II
Monday, February 10	Soil properties & quality
Wednesday, February 12	Soil properties & quality
	Laboratory – Referencing citations Problem set 4 – Soil degradation
Monday, February 17	Long-term soil degradation in the USA
Wednesday, February 19	EXAMINATION 1
	Laboratory – Land use plan
Monday, February 24	Long-term soil degradation in the USA
Wednesday, February 26	Introduction to erosion
	Laboratory – Land use plan Problem set 5 – Soil remediation
Monday, March 03	Principles of water erosion
Wednesday, March 05	Principles of water erosion
	Laboratory – Land use plan Problem set 6 – Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)
Monday, March 10	Principles of water erosion
Wednesday, March 12	Principles of water erosion
	Laboratory – Land use plan Problem set 7 – USLE, part II Note – PS 1 is due on March 12 as well.
Monday, March 17	Spring Break
Wednesday, March 19	Spring Break
Meeting Time	Topic
Monday, March 24	Introduction to wind erosion
Wednesday, March 26	Mechanics of wind erosion
	FIELD TRIP – RHODES FARM Problem set 8 – Wind erosion
Monday, March 31	Impacts of wind erosion
Wednesday, April 02	Impacts of wind erosion
	FIELD TRIP – SQUAW CREEK WATERSHED Problem set 9 – Water cycle
Monday, April 07	Hydrology - H2O cycling & watersheds
Wednesday, April 09	EXAMINATION 2
	FIELD TRIP – DOOLITTLE PRAIRIE Problem set 10 – Water cycle, part II
Monday, April 14	Hydrology - H2O properties
Wednesday, April 16	Water quantities
	FIELD TRIP – URBAN LAND USE
Monday, April 21	Water quality
Wednesday, April 23
	ALTERNATIVE FIELD TRIP DATE
Monday, April 28	Discussion of today and tomorrow
Wednesday, April 30	Summary & course evaluation
	ALTERNATIVE FIELD TRIP DATE
Friday, May 09	FINAL EXAMINATION – 9:45 (tentative)
Saturday, May 10	Convocation & Commencement

Table 2: The three scoring perturbations that will be used to calculate grades in Agron 260. Note, whichever one gives the best grade is the one that will be used for an individual.

Perturbation 1	Perturbation 2	Perturbation 3
Exam 1 = 20%	Exam 1 = 20%	Exam 1 = 20%
Exam 2 = 20%	Exam 2 = 20%	Exam 2 = 20%
Final = 30%	Prob. sets = 15%	Final = 30%
Trips = 20%	LU Report = 15%	Prob. sets = 15%
Quizzes = 10%	Trips = 20%	LU Report = 15%
	Quizzes = 10%
Total = 100%	Total = 100%	Total = 100%

Agronomy 260 Soils & Environmental Quality

Spring Semester 2003

Lee Burras

Overview of the laboratory

Laboratory time will be spent on two components – creating a land use plan and four field trips. Ms. Larabee and Mr. Schmid will explain the requirements and expectations of each. In addition, they have sole authority to assign scores for their respectively laboratory sections. They also control the laboratory calendar. So, it is valuable and important to get to know your TA.

Overview of the problem sets.

There are 10 problem sets with one being due weekly beginning January 29. Discussion and submission of the problem sets will be in lecture. The discussion will be question driven. So I encourage students to ask in lecture about the problem set before it is due.. Each problem set is of equal worth. Each will be graded on a 15-point basis with 5 points assigned to neatness, 5 points to clarity (e.g., in the case of calculations all units must be shown in a “canceling” manner), and 5 points for correctness of the answer.

Problem sets will only be accepted in lecture – i.e., they will not be accepted via email, slid under Dr. Burras’ office door, placed in Dr. Burras’ mailbox, given to the TA’s, etc. Those types of submissions will be counted as late (see below).

Please note, a problem set that is submitted late will be penalized 10 points. This means a late problem set could in fact earn a student negative points. If negative points are earned, they will be subtracted from the student’s overall score. An example of negative points might occur if one submitted a problem set late (-10) that was not neat (-5) nor clear (-5). In this case, this individual would earn a –5 overall score.

Problem sets may be submitted early.

As the preceding indicates, two key components of the problem sets are following directions and paying attention to detail. Hopefully they also serve to educate soils and environmental quality.

Agronomy 260 Soils & Environmental Quality

Spring Semester 2003

Problem Set 1 - Membership in a Professional Society

Lee Burras

Please complete this problem set by simply albeit neatly filling out the following.

Answer Sheet

Due: March 12

Name: _____________________________

I became a member of _________________________________________________________ beginning ____________________________.

Agronomy 260 Soils & Environmental Quality

Spring Semester 2003

Problem Set 2 - Conversions

Lee Burras

Please complete this problem set by simply albeit neatly calculating the following.

Answer Sheet

Due: January 29

Name: _________________________________

(1) Please convert the following. Remember to show your work inclusive of units canceling.

a. Convert 50 feet into inches.

b. Convert 50 square feet into square inches

c. Convert 50 cubic feet into cubic inches

d. Convert 1 mi² into acres

e. Convert 1 mi² into hectares.

(2) The Cerrado Region of Brazil is 204 million hectare of which 90 million hectares are likely to be converted into cropland within the foreseeable future. Calculate the total number of new calories that will be available to the world assuming these 90 million hectares are all used to grow corn that has an average yield of 100 bu/acre.

Agronomy 260 Soils & Environmental Quality

Spring Semester 2003

Problem Set 3