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Soil Dynamics: Organisms, Pools & Processes
Provider: Faculty of Science

Activity no.: 5084-17-01-31
Enrollment deadline: 16/05/2017
Date and time05.06.2017, at: 09:00 - 09.06.2017, at: 16:00
Regular seats20
Activity Prices:
  - Participant200.00 €
  - Deltager/Participant outside UCPH300.00 €
ECTS credits6.00
Contact personFlemming Ekelund    E-mail address: fekelund@bio.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserFlemming Ekelund    E-mail address: fekelund@bio.ku.dk
Written languageEnglish
Teaching languageEnglish
Semester/BlockSummer
Scheme group note4.-10. juni 2017
Exam formContinuous assessment
Exam formParticipation in course, group presentations, a final written assignment
Grading scalePassed / Not passed
Criteria for exam assessmentNo external censorship.
Course workload
Course workload categoryHours
Colloquia15.00
Lectures15.00
Excursions10.00
Project work40.00
Study Groups40.00
Preparation40.00
Sum160.00
Content
We invite you to attend the course Soil dynamics: organisms, pools & processes (previously: Dynamics of Organic Matter in Soil), which we offer for the 9th time this year. We attempt to integrate soil science and soil microbiology/zoology.

The course is relevant if you work with soil in the context of environmental, agricultural or natural science. E.g.: (1) field studies on plant nutrients, (2) process studies on key factors for microbial activity, (3) taxonomic studies of organisms participating in soil processes, (4) work on new methods to identify specific groups of organisms in situ, or (5) soil food web analysis. The lectures and discussions will stimulate the interaction between teachers and participants and are essential for a successful course.

Accommodation: Christiansminde field station, SW Zealand, approx. 80 km from Copenhagen. Arrival: June 4. June 5-10: lectures, field work, discussions, student presentations, seminars. June 10: Student presentations, evaluation, and departure.

We cover the following topics: The ecosystem: Ecosystem structure and function; soil chemistry; pedology, mull and mor; soil organic matter. Production and decomposition of organic matter: Plant eco-physiology, (carbon balance of stand and single plant level); decomposition processes; spatial variation in activity in soil. Micro-organisms: The functional structure of microbial communities; molecular biology; a linkage between microbial ecology, general ecology and organism-biology; fungi, functional (enzymatic) diversity; mycorrhiza in organic matter turnover. Soil fauna and soil processes. Faunal effects on environment, diversity and decomposition.

A major theme in the course will be the bridge between the good hypothesis, the well planned experiment and the firm discussion and conclusion. Student group work will focus on this and it will be the topic of group presentation and the final written assignment. Many scientific papers are unfocussed and difficult to follow and we hope to improve that.

Organizers: Terrestrial Ecology Section (Department of Biology, Nature and Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen).

You will know by May 20 about your attendance (limit 20 students). Participants will receive course material incl. detailed information on how to reach the site. Participants from Copenhagen University pay 200 euro, other attendants pay 300 euro in total for lodging, food, and course material.

Learning outcome
The course will provide the students with tools to bridge the gap between the good hypothesis, the well planned experiment and the firm discussion and conclusion, within the subject.

Literature
State of the art original papers provided by the teachers.

Teaching and learning methods
Lectures, colloquia, student group work, excursions.

Remarks
To sign up for the course you must first log on to the PhD course administration system, frontPlanner on: https://phdcourses.ku.dk/nat.aspx
Here you can find instructions on how to sign up for courses and manage your enrolments. Please note that in addition to your online registration in frontPlanner we also need you to send your name, address, title of your PhD Project and a few lines describing in, including starting and termination date of your phd studie to fekelund@bio.ku.dk before May 16, 2017.

Please contact: Flemming Ekelund (Terrestrial Ecology Section, Universtetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark) if you have further questions. Phone: +45 51 82 70 48 (direct), +45 2243 6301 (mobile), E-mail: fekelund@bio.ku.dk

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