Pedologist Interview Preparation Guide

Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It is one of two main branches of soil science, the other being edaphology. Pedology deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, and soil classification, while edaphology studies the way soils influence plants, fungi, and other living things.

Agrophysics is a branch of science bordering on agronomy and physics, whose objects of study are the agroecosystem - the biological objects, biotope and biocoenosis affected by human activity, studied and described using the methods of physical sciences. Using the achievements of the exact sciences to solve major problems in agriculture, agrophysics involves the study of materials and processes occurring in the production and processing of agricultural crops, with particular emphasis on the condition of the environment and the quality of farming materials and food production.

Pedology is also called "soil science". It is the study of soils, including their chemical and physical properties as they are in their natural environment. It is also one of the two branches of soil science, the other being edaphology. Pedology also encompasses the study of the microbiology of the soil and its physics. Within the viticultural industry, pedology allows vineyard owners to study the growing potential of soil on their land and develop terroir profile goals based on the soil's characteristics.

This is the most challenging question. "Most important" is always answered from the perspective of values.

☛ To many farmers, the most important thing about soil is that it produces crops that provide their livelihood.

☛ To environmental engineers, the most important thing about soil is its ability to purify itself.

☛ To engineers who build things, the most important thing about soil is its ability to support weight or loads. (The leaning Tower of Pisa leans because it was built on soil that could not support its weight.)

☛ To people concerned about wildlife, the most important thing about soil is its role in providing habitat (food and shelter) for many wild animals and several endangered species.

Some soil scientists are involved in the daily activities of food production. They test the soil in which the crops are grown and make fertilizer recommendations, as well as managing irrigation scheduling in regions where irrigation is practiced. They also work to conserve the soil resources, developing methods to protect the soil from wind and water erosion. In dryland regions, soil scientists help develop management systems (tillage and crops) that store rainfall in the soil for future crops.

Soil scientists agree that soils form over time as the climate (temperature, rain, wind, etc.), topography (shape of the landscape), parent material (weathered rocks or stuff deposited by wind, water, ice, or gravity), and living organisms (plants and animals that live in the soil) interact. So, when soil scientists want to know how old a soil is, they look for clues. Though the climate affects how fast weathering and erosion occur, it is usually does not give many clues about how long a soil has been in a given spot. The landscape, parent materials and trees provide better clues. A soil cannot be younger than the oldest trees growing on it. It cannot be older than the materials in which it forms or the landscape on which it is found. Soil scientists work with geologists to determine how old the landscape is, and how long the parent materials have been there. Since most deposition of parent materials occurred before written history began, geologists make educated guesses, estimating the age of the landscape (and materials in it) relative to periods of known glaciation, volcanic activity, floods, and similar events. Soil scientists know that certain positions on the landscape tend to form more rapidly than others. More soil formation occurs on flat landscapes in upland positions than on slopes. Erosion on the slopes limits the rate of soil formation. Soil formation in lowland positions may be slowed by deposition of new materials on the surface by floods or gravity.

I get to travel all over the USA and to foreign countries (Canada, Mexico, Japan, China, and counting) to study soil (play in the dirt there, too). I am an associate professor at a university, so my main responsibilities include teaching college students and doing research. I enjoy the lab activities most because we go outside and work with and/or in the soil.

One of the other really fun things I do is meet with school children, usually fourth or fifth graders, and talk about why soil is important to their lives (food, clothes, etc.), and to the environment. I am what I want to be when I grow up - in other words, I enjoy my job.

Bacteria from all four groups perform important services related to water dynamics, nutrient cycling, and disease suppression. Some bacteria affect water movement by producing substances that help bind soil particles into small aggregates (those with diameters of 1/10,000-1/100 of an inch or 2-200µm). Stable aggregates improve water infiltration and the soil’s water-holding ability. In a diverse bacterial community, many organisms will compete with disease-causing organisms in roots and on aboveground surfaces of plants.

Pedology soils is the study of soils in their natural environment. It is one of two main branches of soil science, the other being edaphology.

Soil morphology is the field observable attributes of the soil within the various soil horizons and the description of the kind and arrangement of the horizons. C.F. Marbut championed reliance on soil morphology instead of on theories of pedogenesis for soil classification because theories of soil genesis are both ephemeral and dynamic.