Diogo Spinola
Linking pedology and biogeochemistry
FSTY205 - Introduction to Soil Science (fall semester)
​Course Description
Chemical, physical, and biological properties of forest soils; fundamentals of soil formation; soil-water-plant relations, soil ecology and soil fertility
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Field trips required.
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Prerequisites
CHEM100 minimum grade of D- and CHEM101 minimum grade of D- and CHEM120 minimum grade of D- and CHEM121 minimum grade of D- )
FSTY415/NREM615 - Forest Soils (fall semester offered every other year)
​Course Description
This course examines the physical, chemical, and biological properties of forest soils from an ecological perspective, with an emphasis on western Canadian examples. Major themes include the role of soils in forest site classifications, carbon and nutrient cycling in forests, soil determinants of forest productivity, mineralogy and biogeochemistry of forest soils, and the responses of soils to management practices, wildfires, and climate change.
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Field trips required.
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Prerequisites
FSTY205 minimum grade of D-
Trip to Log Lake, about 50km north from Prince George. Long-Term soil productivity study to access the impact of different management. practices on soil properties.
We collected samples in burned (2023 fire) and unburned sites to contrast soil properties, such as carbon, nitrogen, pH, and soil morphological properties.
Trip to Log Lake, about 50km north from Prince George. Long-Term soil productivity study to access the impact of different management. practices on soil properties.
FSTY425/NREM625 - Introduction to Soil Science (fall semester offered every other year)
​Course Description
This course focuses on soil formation with emphasis on environmental forces, including human activity as a factor of soil formation; distribution and classification of soils of northern and interior BC; correlation of the Canadian System of Soil Classification with international systems of classification such as Soil Taxonomy and FAO-UNESCO Soil Map of the World.
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Field trips required.
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Prerequisites
FSTY205 minimum grade of D-
BIOL302 - Limnology (winter semester)
​Course Description
This course focuses on the diverse physical, chemical, and biological interactions that define freshwater environments.
Topics include the hydrologic cycle and watersheds, groundwater, wetlands, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, water properties and movement, light and heat in water, dissolved oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients,
freshwater biodiversity, contaminants, sediment dynamics in the Anthropocene, and paleolimnology.
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Field trips required.
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Prerequisites
BIOL201 minimum grade of D-​
In this field trip, we collect field data such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, ice thickness, and site depth. We also take water, sediment, and zooplankton samples for laboratory analyses, including moisture and organic matter content, suspended particulate matter, zooplankton identification, and chlorophyll a quantification
In this field trip, we collect field data such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, ice thickness, and site depth. We also take water, sediment, and zooplankton samples for laboratory analyses, including moisture and organic matter content, suspended particulate matter, zooplankton identification, and chlorophyll a quantification