Human impact on soil and water quality

The main objectives of this course are to identify the different human activities affecting the quality of soils and waters, understand the processes involved, and evaluate the effects of such impacts. In practical classes, the students will be familiarized with standard analytical techniques for the characterization of soil and water samples and with different transformations of urban, industrial and intensively cultivated soils during field observations.

Lectures: 15 x 2 hours

1-2. Introduction: soil properties affected by human activity

3-4.Characteristics of soils under intensive cultivation (intensive tillage, long-term fertilization, pesticide contamination) – field soils and soils of greenhouses.

5-6. Soils industrially polluted

7-8.Characteristics of urban soils

9-10. Classification of soils (according to WRB) transformed by human activity

11-12. Soil quality

13-14. Indicators of soil quality

15-16. Contaminants in water environment

17-18.Human impact on water contamination

19-20. Self-cleaning ability of natural mud habitats.

21-22.Water quality indicators

23-24.Water quality at catchment scale

25-26.Biogeochemical fluxes at different scales

27-28 Human impacts in mountain environments

29-30.Case of study

Laboratory classes:

1.Introduction to field classes, basic terms used in soil description in the field

2.Presentation and description of the profile of Anthrosol.

3. Presentation and description of soil profiles of urban and industrial soils.

4. Drinking water quality, basic parameters

5.Monitoring of drinking water quality – visit to waterworks

Field classes:

1 x 2hours - Presentation and description of the profile of Anthrosol.

1 x 4hours - Presentation and description of soil profiles of Technosols: urban and industrial one.

Subject statistic

1. Number of hours and ECTS credits - compulsory subject Hours: 75; ECTS: 3

2. Number of hours and ECTS credits - facultative subject Hours: -; ECTS: -

3. Total number of hours and ECTS credits, a student must earn by direct contact with academics (lectures, classes, seminars....) Hours: 30; ECTS: 1,2

4. Total number of hours and ECTS credits, a student earns in the course of a practical nature, such as laboratory, field trips and design classes Hours: 15; ECTS: 0,6

5. Expected personal workload (without or with academics participation during consultations) necessary for realization of subject objectives. Hours: 45; ECTS: 1,8

Bullock P., Gregory P.J. Soils in the urban environment. Blackwell, Oxford, 1991.

Chiras, Daniel D. Environmental Science 8th Edition. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC, 2010.

European Commission Directive 91/271/ECC. Urban Wastewater Treatment. 1991.

Goudie, Andrew S. The Human Impact on the Natural Environment: Past, Present, and Future, 6th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 2005.

Manahan, Stanley E. Environmental Chemistry 8th Edition. CRC Press, 2005.

Stumm, W., Morgan, J.J. Aquatic Chemistry: Chemical Equilibria and Rates in Natural Waters, 3rd ed. A Wiley-Interscience publication. New York, 1996.

Tate III R.L. 1987. Soil organic matter. John Wiley & Sons Inc. USA WRB. IUSS Working group, World Reference Base for Soil Resources. World Soil Resources Reports No. 103, Rome 2007.

Knowledge:

1. knows properties and limits of soils changed in result of human activity

2. knows anthropogenic soils classification

Skills:

3. is able to determine propetries of water quality chnged in result of human activities

4. is able to predict the effects of environmentally harmful decisions

Social competence:

5. is conscious of impact of decisions taken in frames of soil resources in order to limit till minimum negatively impact of human activities

Marks formulating for:

1. evaluation of student presentations, written exam, written report from field classes