DEPARTMENT OF SOIL SCIENCE

Department of Soil Science offers degrees at both undergraduate (B.Sc.) and graduate (M.Sc. and Ph.D.) levels.

B.Sc. of Soil Science

M.Sc. of Soil Science

Soil Genesis and Classification

Soil Chemistry and Fertility

Soil Physics and Soil Conservation

Soil Biology

PhD of Soil Science

Soil Genesis and Classification

Soil Chemistry and Fertility

Soil Physics and Soil Conservation

Research Activities

The uniqueness of the soil conditions in central Iran has provided the Department of Soil Science with ample opportunities for novel research as well as a myriad of problems in agriculture and desert management to tackle. Soils in central Iran are generally characterized by low organic matter, high lime content, alkaline PH and high salt content. Better understanding of the biological, chemical and physical properties of these soils is the key to practice proper management aimed at the development of sustainable agricultural programs in the region.

Research activities in the department of Soil Science cluster around three major areas of Soil Chemistry and Fertility, Pedology and Soil Physics and Soil Conservation.

The studies in the department on Soil Chemistry include plant nutrient availability in calcareous and gypsiferous soils and their chemistry, soil testing, surface and groundwater quality and pollution, chemistry of salt- affected soils, land disposal of solid and liquid wastes, and sediment contamination of surface water.

In the area of Pedology, emphasis has been placed on research on the genesis, morphology, and classification of the arid and semi-arid soils in central Iran with special interest in calcareous, gypsiferous and salt-affected soils. Several research projects have been devoted to soil mapping, land evaluation, and sustainability. Some recent work on mineralogy and micromorphology has enhanced the understanding of the soil characteristics in the region. Several studies on desert management have also been conducted in cooperation with the Department of Natural Resources.

Soil Physics research has been carried out on the effects of tillage practices on soil physical and hydrologycal properties, as well as crop root morphological characteristics. The effects of organic amendments on soil compaction and the impacts of deforestation on soil physico-chemical properties have been the subject of research by the group. Due to the prevailing desert conditions in the region, attention has been recently paid to the effects of tillage on soil-plant available water.

The department is planning to focus on application of soil studies to desert management, particularly to controlling wind erosion. The department is taking benefit of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in soil science studies. In the area of soil physics, the department is concerned with modeling solute transport in salt affected soils.

The new trends being developed in soil chemistry include micronutrient chemistry, soil testing, heavy metals adsorption and desorption, selenium status in soils, plants and water bodies in the region, and the chemistry of waterlogged soils.

Research Facilities

The department is equipped with the following facilities for research and education in the areas mentioned above:

- X-Ray Differactometer (XRD)

- Petrographic Microscope

- Equipment for thin section preparation

- Pressure Membrane Apparatus

- Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR)

- Hydraulic Conductivity Measurement Apparatus

- Aggregate Size Distribution Apparatus

- Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

- Flame Emission Spectrometer

- UV Visible Spectrometer

- TOC analyzer

- Sand Box

- Sand caolin Box

- Uniaxial Compression Machine

- PCR

- Magnetic Susceptibility

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM

To obtain a B.Sc. degree in Soil Science, undergraduate students must take a total of 135-140 credits of which 20 credits are general courses, 36 credits are basic courses, 70 credits are core courses and 9-14 credits are elective ones.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

Curriculum for the Degree of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Agriculture; Major: Soil Science

Semester I (Fall)
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36140 36101 36100 21107	Geology Botany I (Plant Anatomy & Physiology) General Biology General Chemistry	3 3 2 3
Semester II
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36102 21204 20008 36151 19081 20009	Botany II (Plant Morphology and Taxonomy) Organic Chemistry General Physics General Microbiology Calculus General Physics Lab	3 2 3 3 1 3 -
Semester III
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36213 36260 36264 36266 36240	Surveying & Planimetry Meteorology and Climatology General Agronomy Probability and Statistics Introduction to Soil Science	3 3 3 3 3
Semester IV
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36211 36290 36401 36285	Irrigation Farm Machinery Introduction to Computer General Biochemistry	3 4 2 3
Semester V
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36388 36342 36346 36265 36341	Analytical Chemistry in Agriculture Soil Physics Soil Biology General Ecology Soil Fertility and Fertilizers	3 3 3 3 3
Semester VI
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36343 36262 36310 36268 36230	Soil Chemistry Cereal Crops Fundamentals of Drainage Field-Work Training Horticultural Science	3 3 3 3 3
Semester VII
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36340 36345 36440 36347	Soil Water and Plant Relations Soil Genesis and Classification Soil Science Project Soil Erosion and Conservation	3 3 1 3
Semester VIII
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36442 36349 36348 36267 36344	Plant Nutrition Soil Surveying Soil and Land Evaluation Experimental Design in Agriculture I Saline and Sodic Soils	2 2 2 3 3
Elective Courses
COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36443 36444 36445 36400 36261 36360 36224 36220 36271 36270	Soil Geography Soil and Water Pollution Radioisotops in Soil Science Computer Programming Crop Production Range Management Agricultural Education and Extension Agricultural Economics Plant Pathology General Entomology and Pest Control	2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

UNDERGRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

36343 Soil Chemistry 3 Cr. Chemistry of solid and liquid phases of soils including chemical composition and structure of organic colloids and inorganic soil minerals, cation and anion exchange in soil, oxidation and reduction in soil, chemical weathering and soil reaction. Prerequisite: Analytical Chemistry 21133

36345 Soil Genesis and Classification 3 Cr. Morphology of soils, weathering and soil formation, soil forming factors, historical development of soil classification, modern soil classification, diagnostic surface and subsurface horizons, orders, suborders and great groups. Prerequisite: Geology 36140; Ecology 36245 and Introduction to Soil Science 36240

36347 Soil Conservation 3 Cr. Man and soil erosion, geological and accelerated erosion, forms of erosion, erosivity of rainfall, erodibility of soils, runoff, and principles of mechanical protection.

Prerequisite: Surveying & Planimetry 36213

36348 Soil and Land Evaluation 2 Cr. Assumptions, present limitations of soil, salinity, alkalinity, topography, erosion and drainage, present potential land evaluation for irrigation, dry farming, range and forestry. Standard land types in Iran.

36346 Soil Biology 3 Cr. Soil as a habitat for organisms and their reactions, component of soil biota, occurrence and distribution of soil organisms, cycles of nutrients (N, P, S, ... )in soil. Prerequisite: General Microbiology 36151

36442 Plant Nutrition 2 Cr. Introduction, history of plant nutrition, biochemical cycle of elements in nature, media for plant nutrition, essential elements, role of essential elements in plants, study of toxicity and deficiency of elements in plants.

Prerequisite: Soil Fertility; Fertilizers 36341

36344 Saline and Sodic Soils 3 Cr. Introduction and history, chemistry of
salt-affected soils and waters, sources of salinity and sodicity in nature and agricultural soils (natural and anthropogenic salinity), reclamation of salt-affected soils, crop salt tolerance. Prerequisite : Introduction to Soil Science 36240

36340 Soil Water and Plant Relations 3 Cr. Soil and water properties, movement of water from soil to atmosphere through plant. The forces and resistances.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Soil Science 36240; Irrigation 36211

36240 Introduction to Soils 3 Cr. Soil physical, chemical, biological, morphological and mineralogical properties. Soil formation and classification.

Prerequisite: General Chemistry 21107

36342 Soil Physics 3 Cr. Soil physical properties, soil texture and structure, movement of water, air, heat, and solutes through soil. Forces and resistances.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Soil Science 36240

36445 Radioisotopes in Soil Science 2 Cr. Introduction to nuclear chemistry and radioactive measuring instruments, use of radioisotopic methods in measuring soil moisture, solute transport, organic matter turnover, soil erosion, and fertilizer uptake.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Soil Science 36240

36444 Soil and Water Pollution 2 Cr. Introduction to environmental science. Discussion of major environmental problems, population rise, deforestation and greenhouse effect. Soil and water pollution by fertilizer and pesticides. Effect of organic amendments on soil pollution. Air pollution. Environmental risk assessment.

Prerequisite: Analytical Chemistry 36388

36341 Soil Fertility and Fertilizers 3 Cr. Growth and factors affecting it, nutrients required for plant growth, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in soil, sulfur and micronutrients, soil fertility evaluation, fertilizers recommendation and application, chemical and organic fertilizers.

Prerequisite: Introduction to Soil Science 36240

36349 Soil Surveying 2 Cr. Field study techniques used in making a soil map for agricultural, rangeland, forest and urban uses. Practice in preparation of a soil survey manuscript. Prerequisite: Soil Genesis and Classification 36345

36443 Soil Geography 2 Cr. Factors influencing soil distribution in Iran and other parts of the world. Introducing soil distribution in Iran based on local soil surveys and in the world based on FAO/UNESCO soil map of the world.

Prerequisite: Soil Genesis and Classification 36345

GRADUATE PROGRAM

(a) M.Sc. Program

To obtain M.Sc. degree in Soil Science, graduate students must take a total of 32 credits of which 18 credits are required courses, 7 credits are elective ones, 1 credit is the seminar and 6 credits are the thesis.

(b) Ph.D. Program

To obtain a Ph.D. degree in Soil Science, graduate students must take a total of 49 credits of which 14 credits are the core courses, 10 credits are the elective courses, 1 credit is seminar, and 24 credits are the dissertation. After passing the comprehensive exam, they conduct a research project.

GRADUATE COURSES

Curriculum for the Degree of Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Soil Science

COURSE CODE	COURSE TITLE	CREDITS
36548 36546 36642 36516 36510 36541 36644 36505 36508 36514 36615 36545 36781 36782 36775 36783 36819 36818 36779 36786 36804 36817	Advanced Soil Chemistry Advanced Soil Physics Advanced Soil Fertility Advanced Soil Genesis and Classification Advanced Soil Conservation Geomorphology Clay Mineralogy Soil Mineralogy and Micromorphology Land Evaluation and Suitability Advanced Soil, Water and Plant Relations Water Quality for Agriculture Laboratory Instruments in Soil Science Soil Testing Advanced Soil Biology Chemical Equilibria in Soils Advanced Plant Nutrition Hydroponics Paleoclimate Remote Sensing Sustainable Management of Soils Soil Landscape Analysis Stable Isotopes in Soil Science	3 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 3

GRADUATE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

36615 Water Quality for Agriculture 2 Cr. Introduction, sources of minerals (salts) in natural and agricultural waters. Problems, water quality, guidelines, salinity problems and their management, infiltration problems and their management, specific ions and their effects, nutrition and water quality, waste water re-use.

Prerequisite: Saline and Alkali Soils

36783 Advanced Plant Nutrition 2 Cr. Media of plant nutrition, application of radioactive and nonradioactive tracers in plant nutritional studies, outer or free spaces, Active and passive ion transports, heredity and environment in plant nutrition.

Prerequisite: Plant Nutrition.

36819 Hydroponics 2 Cr. Media of hydroponics, advantages and disadvantages of hydroponic systems, open and closed hydroponic systems, construction materials, chemicals used for hydroponics, calculation of chemical formula, management of some greenhouse crops.

36508 Land Suitability 3 Cr. Introduction, definitions, land use resources, land utilization types, land characteristics and land qualities, evaluation of land characteristics and land qualities. Limitations of land characteristics and land qualities. Parametric approach in the evaluation of land characteristics, combination of limitation method and parametric approach, guidelines for interpretation of land use requirements.

Prerequisite: Soil and Land Evaluation.

36510 Advanced Soil Conservation 3 Cr. Introduction, forms of soil erosion, soil erosion and deposition processes, rainfall detachment and re-detachment, runoff entrainment and re-entrainment, model of re-entrainment. Isotope tracer methods for evaluating soil erosion and deposition, modeling soil erosion, sediment transport and deposition, USLE, soilloss, Foster, WEPP, guest, answers, methods of controlling soil erosion.

Prerequisite: Soil and Water Conservation.

36516 Advanced Soil Genesis and Classification 3 Cr. Soil map of the world, general principle, major soil groupings and soil units. Concepts of soil and pedology, pedology and geomorphology, soil-landscape relationships. Catena, processes in a catena. Paleosols, pedogenic processes, sulfudization and sulphurization, salinization, solonization, and solodization, calcification, lessivage, podzolization, latosolization and lateritization, gleization.

Prerequisite: Soil Genesis and Classification.

36818 Paleoclimate 2 Cr. Oxygen and Hydrogen Stable Isotope, geochemistry and climate record, Milankovich and climate oscillations, ice records-implication for atmospheric change, terrestrial record for climate change, geomorphic response to climate change.

36644 Clay Mineralogy 3 Cr. Historical background, nature and production of x-ray, x-ray diffraction effects, structure, composition, properties and occurrences of clay minerals. Sample preparation techniques for clay minerals, identification of individual clay minerals and associated minerals, identification of mix-layered clay minerals, quantitative analyses.

36541 Geomorphology 2 Cr. Introduction to landforms and geomorphic processes. Structural landforms, hillslope processes, and fluvial, glacial, and eolian landscapes.

Prerequisite: Geology

36505 Soil Mineralogy and Micromorphology 3 Cr. Introduction to mineral identification with petrographic microscope and general descriptive criteria for micromorphological features. Laboratory includes methods of thin section preparation and description.

36514 Advanced Soil, Water, and Plant Relationships 3 Cr. Description of SPAC soil, plant, atmosphere general relation and cell water relationship. Evapotranspiration processes and theories.

Prerequisite: Soil Water and Plant Relationships.

36786 Soil Management for Sustainability 2 Cr. Soil sustainability criteria, indicators, soil physical, chemical and biological attributes, soil productivity, soil resilience and managements.

36546 Advanced Soil Physics 3 Cr. Description of soil physical properties. Principles of water, gas, heat, and solute transport in soil. Water infiltration and movement under unsaturated field conditions. Influence of soil physical properties on transfer processes.

Prerequisite: Soil Physics.

36545 Laboratory Instruments in Soil Science 3 Cr. Theoretical bases, structure and functions of various laboratory instruments used in soil analysis including different chromatographic techniques, absorption and emission spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry, potentiometric techniques, Mass spectrometry, Electron microprobe, X-ray fluorescence and x-ray spectrometry.

Prerequisite: Analytical Chemistry.

36775 Chemical Equilibria in Soil 3 Cr. Methods of handling chemical equilibria, chemical equilibria of aluminum in soil, chemical equilibria of silica and aluminosilicats in soil, chemical equilibria of carbonates in soil, chemical equilibria of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in soil, chemical equilibria of phosphorus in soil.

Prerequisite: Physical Chemistry.

36781 Soil Testing 2 Cr. Availability concepts and evaluation, methods to evaluate nutrient availability, soil testing program, extractants and extraction of available nutrients from soil, correlation and calibration studies, interpretation of calibration results, recommendation of fertilizer based on soil testing.

Prerequisite: Soil Fertility.

36548 Advanced Soil Chemistry3 Cr. Basis of chemical equilibria in soil, surface chemistry of soil colloids, retention and exchange of cations in soil, retention and fixation of anions in soil, molecular absorption and absorption isotherms, transport and accumulation of solutes in soil, acid soils, important ions in soil.

Prerequisite: Soil Chemistry.

36642 Advanced Soil Fertility 3 Cr. Nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur cycles in soil, determination of plants need for nutrients, soil testing, chemical equilibria of micronutrients in soil, oxidation, reduction and its role in nutrient availability, chelates and its role in nutrient mobility, methods for diagnosis of micronutrient deficiencies in Iran.

Prerequisite: Soil Fertility.

36779 Remote Sensing 3 Cr. Introduction, principles of remote sensing, energy sources and radiation, interaction of energy with atmosphere and earth surface features, earth resource satellites, digital image processing, microwave sensing, application of digital image analysis for vegetation and soil mapping.

36782 Advanced Soil Microbiology 2 Cr. Soil communities and their effects on nutrient cycling. Soil enzymes and their origin. Major groups of enzymes including hydrolysis, oxidoreductases. Mechanisms and rates of enzymatic reactions. Effects of environmental factors on enzyme activity. Enzyme stability in soil. Interaction between soil enzymes and chemicals. Urease, phosphataes, sulfataes. Microbial activity under stress condition. Effects of pesticides and heavy metals on biological processes in soil, metabolism of pesticides. Effects of microorganisms on some physical and chemical properties, interactions among microbial populations. Biofertilizers.

Prerequisite: Soil Biology.

36804 Soil Landscape Analysis 3 Cr. Definitions, landscape elements, scale of studies, methods of sampling, research methodology in landscape scale, geostatistics and other non-parametric statistical methods in data analysis, frequency distributions of soil properties, mapping and analysis of spatial patterns, systematic and random variabilities, pedologic application of landscape-scale variability, using landscape analysis in soil re-distribution studies and solute transport, regional-scale variability.

36817 Stable Isotopes in Soil Science 3 Cr. Definition of stable and radioactive isotopes, scale of measurement, isotopic effects, isotope fractionation proccsses, isotope exchange, kinetic effect, international standards, using stable carbon isotopes in peleopedology, carbon cycle studies and soil genesis research, stable isotopes and their application in soil science, using oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes in soil and water studies, using 15N-enriched fertilizers.