Course description

«Soil Cartography» is a normative discipline for students majoring in the speciality of «Soil Science and Expert Assessment of Lands», an educational program for bachelor training. It is taught in the 4th term in the amount of 5 credits (according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS). The curriculum of the course includes the theoretical and methodological essentials of soil cartography. Students gain some practical skills in applying the methodology of large-scale soil mapping, analyzing the methods of soil field research, the structure of the soil cover, and ways of its mapping. Great attention is paid to the methods of compiling general (soil maps, maps of agricultural groups of soils or types of lands), special (soil grading maps, soil erosion maps, soil reclamation maps, agrochemical cartograms, soil ecological maps, etc.) and regional (salt-affected soil maps, maps of radioactive contamination) soil maps and cartograms.

During practical classes, students in detail analyze the contents and types of the cartographic basis, the informational contents of soil maps of different scales, assess soil cover heterogeneity of in various areas, make  up program and methodical tasks for various stages of soil inspections, develop planning and organization skills in the sphere of field soil research, learn the technique of field soil surveying, improve their skills in field soil diagnostics, learn the rules of compiling analytical work plans and peculiarities of analysis result reading, master the technique of compiling author original soil maps and accompanying cartographic materials, make up explanatory notes to various soil maps and give genetic and production characteristics of soils within the specific area.