This is class 4 of 6. Building up from the previous classes, we will review soil disturbance and resulting stewardship challenges commonly encountered at restoration sites such as former agricultural land, urban fill, construction sites, brownfields, and degraded natural areas. We will review how to assess for common soil disturbances as well as historical and ecological site conditions for their soil management plans. Reasons and resources will be reviewed for more technical soil testing through consultants and labs.

Understanding soils – what they are, how they function, how they degrade, and how to steward them back to health – empowers restoration professionals to design and implement more resilient and self-sustaining ecosystem restoration projects. This series of classes will build from the ground up a holistic knowledge of soils that will enable students to understand how and when to choose soil stewardship techniques and most importantly why they work based on soil science.