Soils are the living upper part of the earth's crust. They are porous natural bodies whose cavities are filled with water, air or living organisms. Soils play a central role in the water and material cycles of the earth. Soil science (also pedology) deals with the formation, development and spatial distribution of soils, soil functions and human management.
Soil science and soil physics are central disciplines for the Environmental Sciences degree programmes (Bachelor and Master). The education of the students is dedicated to the complete range of soil sciences: Soil science, soil geography, soil biology and microbiology, soil chemistry, soil physics and soil hydrology. Our department teaches soil science content in the formats lecture, tutorial, practicals in the laboratory, field exercises on profile approach and soil mapping, and field practicals on monitoring and field measurements. An important focus is the description of water, energy and material flows with numerical transport models.
