| Course ID: | CRSS(ECOL) 8650. 3 hours. |
| Course Title: | Nutrient Cycling Models |
Course
Description: | Structure, function, and performance of current nutrient cycling models used to simulate carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur transformations in the soil. |
| Oasis Title: | NUTR CYCLING MODELS |
| Prerequisite: | [CSCI 7010 and CRSS(MIBO) 4610/6610-4610L/6610L] or permission of department |
Semester Course
Offered: | Offered every year. |
| Grading System: | A-F (Traditional) |
|
| Course Objectives: | 1. Provide an overview of modeling techniques.
2. Help students understand and discuss the structure and functioning of nutrient
cycling models
for N, C, and P in soil.
3. Help students become familiar with a visual modeling tool and develop a nutrient
cycling
model in their own area of interest. |
| Topical Outline: | I. Review of Important Concepts
A. Soil Concepts
B. Mathematical Concepts
II. Systems Science and Models
A. Definition of System
B. Systems versus Non-systems Science
C. Models
D. Terminology
III. Model Development
A. Methods for mapping relationships between variables
B. Steps in model development
IV. Numerical Solutions to Partial Differential Equations
A. Writing differential equations
B. Numerical methods
V. Visual Software Tools for Model Development
A. Stella Research
B. Other tools (ModelMaker, Vensim, Powersim, etc.)
VI. Modeling Carbon and Nitrogen Processes
A. Common kinetic models for mineralization of a single organic compound
B. Temperature and Moisture Factors in Simulation Models
C. Carbon and N mineralization/immobilization
D. Modeling other N processes
VII. Modeling Phosphorus Processes
A. Mineralization/Immobilization
B. Adsorption/Precipitation
C. Phosphorus in Runoff |