Credit hours
In-class work per week |
Practice per week |
Credits |
Duration |
Total |
10 |
10 |
10 |
5 weeks |
150 hours |
Instructor
Miguel Cooper
Selma Simoes de Castro
Objective
The objective of the discipline Micropedology is to provide the students with knowledge on the
description, measure, quantification and interpretation of the soil component, features and fabric at a
microscopic sclae and the applications that this technique has in the areas of soil genesis, physics,
chemistry and management.
Content
1) Introduction and background, 2) Concepts and definitions, 3) Sampling and preparation of samples,
4)Microscopic observation, 5) Hierarchy and chronology of the organizations, 6) Constituents of the
groundmass, 7) Pedological features, 8) Systematization of thin section description, 9) Analysis and
interpretation of micromorphological data, 10) Principles of electron scanning microscopy and
microanalysis, 11) Principles of micromorfometry and image analysis, 12) Aplications of soil
micromorphology to soil physics, chemistry, conservation, degradation and management.
Bibliography
Stoops, G. Guidelines for analysis and description of soil and regolith thin sections. Soil Science Society
of America , Inc., 2003.
Stoops, G.; Marcelino, V.; Mees, F. Interpretation of Micromorphological Features of Soils and Regoliths.
Elsevier. 720p. 2010.
Brewer, R. Fabric and mineral analysis of soils. Robert & Krieger Publishers, 1976.
Bullock, P.; Fedoroff,N.; Jongerius, A ; Stoops, G. & Tursina, T. Handbook for soil thin section
description. Waine research Publishers, 1985.
Castro, S.S.; Cooper M. Fundamentos de Micromorfologia de Solos. SBCS, Viçosa, 240p. 2019.
Chauvel, A. Iniciação à análise microscópica dos solos. ESALQ/USP. Mimeografado. 1979.
Curi, N. (coord.) Terminologia de micromorfologia do solo. SBCS. Bol. Inf. 33, Campinas, 44p. 1985.
Goldstein, J.I.; Newbury, D.E.; Echlin, P.; Joy, D.C.; Fiori, C. & Lifshin, E. Scanning electron microscopy
and X-ray microanalysis. Plenum Press. 1984.
Murphy, C.P. Thin section preparation of soils and sediments. A.B. Academic Publishers. 1986.
Russ, J.C. The image processing handbook. CRC Press, 2009.
Smart, P. & Tovey, N.K. Electron microscopy od soils and sediments: techniques. Clarendon Press.
1982.