Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Scale Model Of A Soil Aggregate And Associated Organisms: A Teaching Tool For Soil Ecology, Mary Anne Bruns, Loren B. Byrne
Scale Model Of A Soil Aggregate And Associated Organisms: A Teaching Tool For Soil Ecology, Mary Anne Bruns, Loren B. Byrne
Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications
Soil is a complex habitat for diverse biota. A significant challenge in teaching soil ecology is our inability to observe organisms as they live and interact in the soil. The objective of this article is to describe an interactive class project to help students visualize the sizes of different groups of soil organisms and to relate these to soil structural components. This project was carried out by students in an upper-level undergraduate soil ecology class. It involved the design and construction of a 4000× scale model of a soil aggregate and its associated organisms. The body of the model was …