WELCOME

(Soil Science Module)

EDUARDO P. PANINGBATAN, JR. PhD
Professor of Soil Physics

The fields of study in soil science

1. Soil fertility
2. Soil physics
3. Soil chemistry
4. Soil microbiology
5. Soil conservation and management
6. Soil survey and classification
7. Soil mineralogy
8. Land use

FIELDS IN SOIL SCIENCE:

1. Soil fertility: study of the status of a soil with respect to the form, amount, and
availability to plants of nutrient elements necessary for plant growth.

2. Soil Conservation and Management: Protection of the soil against physical

loss by erosion or chemical deterioration; totality of all tillage operations, cropping
practices, fertilization, liming, etc. conducted on a soil for crop production.

3. Soil Microbiology: characterization of important groups of microorganisms in

the soil and their role in the physical and biochemical changes.

4. Soil Genesis, Morphology, and Classification: deals with the structural

characteristics, mode of origin, and systematic arrangement of soils.

5. Soil physics: deals with characteristics, properties, or reactions of a soil which

are caused by physical forces and which can be described by equations.

6. Soil Chemistry and Mineralogy: study of the original rocks and minerals
which constitute the materials from which soils are derived; characterization of
the reactions of the nutrients in the soil and in the soil solution.

7. Land use: deals with the utilization or allocation of lands for general or broad
purposes such as agriculture, forestry, settlement and military reservations.