Soils Laboratory Manual: K-State Edition, Version 2.0

Authors

Colby J. Moorberg, Kansas State UniversityFollow
David A. Crouse, North Carolina State UniversityFollow

Files

Description

The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, introductory soil science courses. The manual highlights the multidisciplinary aspects of soil science with laboratories focused on soil formation, classification, and mapping; soil physics, soil biology; soil chemistry; and soil fertility and management. The lab manual includes 16 different laboratories, each one starting with an introduction and pre-lab assignment, followed by in-lab activities, and complimented by a post-lab assignment. In-lab activities involve field trips, experiments, observation stations, or problem sets. Post-lab assignments include online quizzes, problem sets, or laboratory summary reports.

Version 2 of the lab manual exhibits a completely new design with improved functionality and accessibility. In addition to a PDF, Version 2 is available in MOBI and EPUB eBook formats and as a web book. A new laboratory, the SoilWeb Field Trip, was added to Version 2 along with significant revisions to the Compost Facility Field Trip and Soil Carbon and Respiration laboratories. The recommended readings in each laboratory now include links to free, online resources in place of conventional textbook reading assignments.

The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is used in the AGRON 305 – Soils course at Kansas State University, and is based on the Soils Laboratory Manual, NC State Edition used in the SSC 201 – Soil Science Laboratory course at North Carolina State University. The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition was originally published by New Prairie Press in 2017, and was included as a supplement to ‘An Open-Source Laboratory Manual for Introductory Undergraduate Soil Science Courses’ in Natural Sciences Education, Vol. 46:170013, https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/nse/articles/46/1/170013. Supporting materials, assignments, and instructor versions of the lab manual are available at open.soilscience.info. The lab manual is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ISBN

978-1-944548-35-3

Publication Date

2-3-2021

Edition Statement

K-State Edition Version 2.0

Comments

Soils Laboratory Manual: K-State Edition, Version 2.0 is also available in ebook form at: https://kstatelibraries.pressbooks.pub/soilslabmanual/. Soils Laboratory Manual: K-State Edition, Version 2.0 can be found in the New Prairie Press Pressbooks Catalog.

Previous Editions

This is the most current edition.

To explore the prior edition visit: https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/15/.

Publisher

New Prairie Press

City

Manhattan

Keywords

soil, soil science, laboratory, laboratory manual, open-source

Disciplines

Agricultural Education | Agricultural Science | Agriculture | Environmental Education | Environmental Sciences | Geology | Soil Science

Recommended Citation

Moorberg, Colby J. and Crouse, David A., "Soils Laboratory Manual: K-State Edition, Version 2.0" (2021). NPP eBooks. 39.
https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/39

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.