Plant nutrition and soil fertility

In the course you will learn about the chemical, physical and biological parameters controlling soil fertility and soil quality and you learn how to relate these parameters to the impacts of climate change.
You will learn how to optimize soil fertility in order to support plant productivity in a changing climate and you will learn about adverse soils conditions such as soil salinity, acidity, alkalinity, drought and flooding.
The possibilities to restore soil fertility under adverse conditions will be presented and a special focus will be given to the challenges related to climate change.
You will obtain detailed knowledge on the functionality of all 14 essential mineral plant nutrients and be able to understand their characteristics and behavior at all key-points, including release from soil aggregates into the soil solution; ion movement; ion uptake in roots; translocation to the shoot, assimilation in the plant tissue and remobilization during plant development. In addition, you will obtain detailed information about their specific roles in plant metabolism and you will learn how to diagnose and chemically analyse the nutritional status of plants.
The course deals with strategies for sustainable management of inorganic fertilizers, organic manures and green manures in order optimize plant productivity, nutrient use efficiency and to reduce nutrient losses to the environment. Focus will also be on how the use of synthetic fertilizers and organic manures may impact climate change, and how potential impacts may be mitigated through best management practices of fertilizers and manures as well as through increased used of bio-based and recycled fertilizers.
The course is mainly focused on temperate plant production systems, but has an international perspective and will also include minor topics within low-input and warmer climate plant production systems.
The course provides important key-competences for all career paths dealing with sustainable management of soil, water and plants in a changing climate. It is fundamental for jobs providing plant and soil based consultancy services for plant producers (agriculture, horticulture and forestry), in public administration or in international organizations dealing with plant production, nature management and sustainability issues, as well as teaching and research at college and university levels.

Knowledge:
You will obtain in-depth knowledge that allow you to:
· Describe the biological and chemical processes affecting soil fertility, with a special focus on processes controlling the availability of essential plant nutrients, soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions.
· Describe key-aspects of plant nutritional physiology and the functionality of nutrients in plants, including the effects of climate change and how the nutritional status affects plant resilience to stress
· Describe the effects of fertilization and soil fertility management on crop yield and quality
· Demonstrate an overview on the effects of fertilization on plant growth, nutrient losses and greenhouse gas emissions to the environment

Skills:
· Evaluate soil fertility and the nutrient status of crops using soil and plant analyses.
· Diagnose nutrient disorders in crops.
· Suggest appropriate and sustainable remediation strategies to restore and optimize soil fertility and plant productivity.

Competences:
· You will understand the complexity of plant nutrition and soil fertility and you will be obtain the academic qualifications that allow you to navigate within this complexity.
· You will gain competences that allow you to discus and predict how the soil, water and plant system will react when exposed to a range of changes.