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The transition of our large ([approximately]300 student) introductory soil science course to the online setting created several challenges, including engaging first- and second-year students, providing meaningful hands-on learning activities, and setting up online exams. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and use of question banks for online exams and other forms of assessment in an introductory soil science course. Use of question banks for the development of the online exams, especially in large classes, may be advantageous due to time saving features such as automatic marking of quiz style questions, the ability to easily setup practice exams, and question randomization to reduce the risk of misconduct. Instructors should keep in mind that questions in the question banks should be aligned with course learning outcomes, and organized by theme and level of difficulty. Through a case study of this course, we hope to provide lessons learned which may be applicable to other large introductory science courses.

Soil knowledge is essential to address modern global challenges. Soil science education began with soil survey and agricultural activities, with a focus on the traditional subdisciplines of soil chemistry, soil physics, pedology, soil mineralogy, and soil biology. Soil education has evolved to address the needs of an increasing variety of fields and increasingly complex issues, as seen through the move to teach soil content in programs such as biological and ecological sciences, environmental science, and geosciences. A wide range of approaches have been used to teach soil topics in the modern classroom, including not only traditional lecture and laboratory techniques but also soil judging, online tools, computer graphics, animations, and game-based learning, mobile apps, industry partners, open-access materials, and flipped classrooms. The modern soil curriculum needs to acknowledge the multifunctionality of soils and provide a suite of conduits that connect its traditional subdisciplines with other cognate areas. One way to accomplish this may be to shift from the traditional subdiscipline-based approach to soil science education to a soil functions approach. Strategies to engage the public include incorporating soil topics into primary and secondary school curricula, engaging the public through museums and citizen science projects, and explaining the significance of soil to humanity. Soil education has many challenges and opportunities in the years ahead.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we were confronted with the transition of a large, on-campus introductory soil science course into an online setting. This created several challenges, such as providing meaningful learning experiences to engage first- and second-year students, and restructuring course content for the online environment. The objective of our article is to document the transition from on-campus to online teaching and learning, through the consolidation of existing course material and the development of new resources to engage students in an introductory soil science course. We compare on-campus, distance education, and online blended teaching and learning approaches for the same course, and provide lessons learned that may be applicable to other large introductory science courses. Our experience included the use of virtual laboratories, traditional online course materials, synchronous and asynchronous discussions, and the use of question banks for online exams. Recognizing the narrow preparation window, we focused on developing resources that provide benefits beyond COVID-19.

Professional natural resource managers require a solid understanding of sustainable soil practices. Postsecondary institutions are increasingly integrating innovative approaches such as hybrid problem-based learning (PBL) and team-based learning (TBL) to train future professional land managers to tackle complex problems. This article describes the application of a hybrid PBL--TBL approach in a combined undergraduate and graduate level course, Sustainable Soil Management, offered at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. The course utilizes 15 modified PBL cases, where "modified PBL" refers to a hybrid PBL-TBL approach. The course aims to provide experiential learning opportunities for students to connect with practicing professionals and community partners in addressing real-world issues. Course instructors identified several challenges related to the modified PBL approach including multiple outcomes based on data interpretation, imbalanced team composition, and complex cases that demand advanced education and/or experience. However, course instructors and students were favorable of the enhanced teaching and learning opportunities offered by the hybrid PBL-TBL format. Student engagement was facilitated by the practical relevance of the cases, the opportunity to incorporate fieldwork, and interactions with external (guest) case contributors; and a balance between knowledge-based and competency-based learning outcomes was achieved. This hybrid PBL-TBL approach could serve as a framework for other postsecondary courses focused on sustainable management of natural resources.

This study explored practices that Canadian soil scientists use to educate postsecondary students, K-12 students, and the general public. The most commonly used type of educational activities described by survey respondents, regardless of the settings and the type of target audience, were field-based hands-on activities. The other two commonly used educational activities were lectures and laboratory activities; and they were predominantly implemented at the postsecondary institutions. Educational activities in K-12, outreach, and professional development settings were generally delivered through one-time events (e.g., workshops, school visits, field days), offering less opportunities for a greater variety of practices relative to the postsecondary settings. At postsecondary institutions, where soil science education is delivered in a more structured manner, there are more opportunities for educators to implement a range of educational practices (e.g., lectures, laboratory activities, games, case studies, quizzes). The learning objectives of the field-based hands-on activities and lectures were to describe specific soil properties or to describe and classify soils, whereas for laboratory activities, the learning objectives focused more on the application of those concepts. The insights offered by this study on educational practices used by Canadian soil scientists to encourage more students to study soil science and raise awareness about the importance of soil are valuable teaching resources for both new and seasoned educators within Canada and abroad.

Thirty-six long-term (14-83 years) cattle grazing exclosures and adjacent grazed pastures spanning a climatic gradient from cooler--wetter to warmer--drier growing seasons in south-central British Columbia were compared for temporal vegetation change. Trajectories of temporal vegetation change from non-metric multidimensional scaling were mostly scattered for the grazed areas, but more directed toward the dominant grasses, primarily rough fescue (Festuca campestris) or Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), for the exclosures. Plant community differences, detected only after 10 years of grazing exclusion, were primarily due to structural shifts in overall species cover related to growth increases of the dominant grasses inside exclosures. Species richness remained unchanged between the first and last sampling dates in both grazed areas and exclosures, with both treatments showing moderate degrees (15%-30%) of turnover in species composition. Shannon diversity declined in both treatments as a result of the structural changes in species cover. The results highlight the value of repeated monitoring of long-term exclosures for assessment of grassland resiliency to grazing. Further studies of the interaction of grazing and climate are needed for a more complete understanding of the ongoing vegetation change. Key words: grassland plant communities, temporal change vegetation, rough fescue, bluebunch wheatgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, non-metric multidimensional scaling. Trente-six exclos a long terme de paturage (14-83 ans) pour le betail et les paturages adjacents couvrant un gradient climatique allant de saisons de croissance plus fraiches et humides a des saisons plus chaudes et seches dans le centre-sud de la Colombie-Britannique ont ete compares en matiere de changement temporel de la vegetation. Les trajectoires de changement temporel de la vegetation a partir d'une echelle multidimensionnelle non metrique etaient principalement dispersees pour les zones de paturage, mais plus orientees vers les herbes dominantes, principalement la fetuque scabre (Festuca campestris) ou le paturin des pres (Poa pratensis), pour les exclos. Les differences entre les communautes vegetales, detectees apres 10 ans seulement d'exclusion du paturage, etaient principalement dues a des changements structurels dans la couverture globale des especes lies a l'augmentation de la croissance des herbes dominantes a l'interieur des exclos. La richesse des especes est restee inchangee entre la premiere et la derniere date d'echantillonnage dans les zones de paturage et les exclos, les deux traitements montrant des degres moderes (15-30 %) de renouvellement dans la composition des especes. La diversite de Shannon diminuait dans les deux traitements en raison des changements structurels dans la couverture des especes. Les resultats soulignent l'interet d'une surveillance repetee des exclos a long terme pour evaluer la resilience des prairies au paturage. Des etudes supplementaires sur l'interaction entre le paturage et le climat sont necessaires pour comprendre plus completement le changement de vegetation en cours. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: communautes vegetales des prairies, changement temporel de la vegetation, fetuque scabre, agropyre a epi, paturin des pres, echelle multidimensionnelle non metrique., Introduction Temporal change in plant species richness and community composition has long been a central focus in ecological research. A SpringerLink search for the key words 'temporal change vegetation' identified [...]

Grassland set-asides (GLSA) are fields that are taken out of intensive annual crop production and seeded with a mixture of grasses and legumes for one to four years to improve soil quality. The objectives of this study were to evaluate (i) the relationships among soil organic carbon (SOC), permanganate oxidisable C (POXC), dilute-acid extractable polysaccharides (DAEP) and aggregate stability to determine if they may be used as proxies for one another, (ii) whether these indicators could be used to predict aggregate stability, (iii) if differences in soil quality after shortterm GLSAs, detected with aggregate stability, could instead be detected with POXC or DAEP and (iv) potential use of diffuse Fourier transform spectroscopy (FT-MIR) to predict POXC, DAEP and aggregate stability in the Fraser River Delta region of British Columbia, Canada. There were strong relationships among SOC, POXC and DAEP, but the relationship between DAEP and SOC ([R.sup.2] = 0.60, P < 0.0001) was less strong than that observed between POXC and SOC ([R.sup.2] = 0.71, P < 0.0001). All three soil C fractions were significantly predicted with the 2-6 mm aggregate size fraction but the correlations for DAEP ([R.sup.2] = 0.43) and POXC ([R.sup.2] = 0.36) were stronger than that for SOC ([R.sup.2] = 0.29). Predictions of soil quality indicators using FT-MIR produced [R.sup.2] = 0.92 for POXC, [R.sup.2] = 0.93 for DAEP and [R.sup.2] = 0.62 for the 2-6 mm aggregate size fraction. These results suggest that FT-MIR holds promise as a low-cost method to determine labile soil C fractions that are better proxy soil quality indicators for aggregate stability than SOC. Additional keywords: agriculture, labile carbon fractions, permanganate oxidisable carbon, perennial grass systems, soil polysaccharides, soil structure. Received 5 July 2019, accepted 3 February 2020, published online 31 March 2020, Introduction Soil quality is a concept commonly used to evaluate sustainable and beneficial land management practices in agricultural systems, and the most widely acknowledged indicator of soil quality is soil [...]

As global issues continue to place increasing demands on soil resources, the need to provide soil science education to the next generation of soil scientists and the general public is becoming more imminent. In many countries around the world, including Canada, soil is either not included in the high school curriculum or it is not covered in depth. To address this need for better integration of soil science into high school programs in Canada, a national collaborative program entitled Soil 4 Youth (soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/youth/), was established in 2009. The goals of the Soil 4 Youth program are to: (1) promote the discipline of soil science to high school students and teachers, (2) create open access soil education resources that can be directly implemented in high school curricula in Canada, and (3) raise awareness about the importance of soil. During the initial 4 years of the Soil 4 Youth program, we developed a variety of soil education resources, struck collaboration with several provincial high school teachers' associations and not-for-profit organizations focused on promotion of science, and focused our efforts toward reaching a broader group of high school teachers and students. Our initial efforts of building the Soil 4 Youth program indicate that it is a viable platform through which collaboration among Canadian soil scientists and high school teachers can take place to ensure that high school students are better informed about the importance of soil. Impact Statement: The Canadian collaborative program, Soil 4 Youth, was established to promote the discipline of soil science to high school students and teachers. The program provides a platform for collaboration among soil scientists and high school teachers to ensure that high school students are better informed about the importance of soil. This article describes the development of the Soil 4 Youth program, offering insights into the challenges and potential solutions to advance soil science education for youth.

Since soil plays a crucial role in all aspects of global environmental change, it is essential that post-secondary institutions provide students with a strong foundation in soil science concepts including soil classification. The onset of information technology (IT) and web-based multimedia have opened new avenues to better incorporate traditional, static educational resources such as soil monoliths into post-secondary teaching and learning. The objective of this study was to develop an open access, web-based educational tool entitled "Virtual Soil Monoliths" (VSM) (http://soilweb.landfood.ubc.ca/monoliths/), based on a soil monolith collection at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. With 197 monoliths, the UBC collection is the second largest of its nature in Canada, but due to poor storage and displays it has been underutilized in teaching. The VSM tool was developed by a team of scientists, instructional designers, IT specialists, and students and integrated into the Introduction to Soil Science course at UBC to support lectures and laboratory sections on parent material identification and soil classification. Student feedback indicated the VSM tool was helpful in facilitating student achievement of learning objectives related to basic soil classification and soil identification skills. Students used the VSM tool to complete assignments in the Introduction to Soil Science course, and students pointed out that the high-resolution monolith photographs were the most useful feature of the tool. This study provides a framework for incorporating inventory-type learning resources into an interactive teaching tool and a "living" educational resource that helps students grasp connections across disciplines. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

The current management focus for many of British Columbia's grasslands is on sustaining their high natural and economic values in light of concerns over climate change and spread of exotic species. To that end, scientific information on plant community--soil--topographic relationships is required to assist with the often complex decisions that managers face. We collected data on vegetation, topography, and soil properties at 38 sites over a range of elevation zones and aspects at Lac du Bois Grasslands Provincial Park near Kamloops, British Columbia. Cluster analysis of the vegetation data validated the current three-zonal system used for grazing management but indicated that boundaries between adjacent plant communities are interspersed according to aspect. Principal component analysis (PCA) of environmental variables identified a gradient from the less productive, lower grasslands (higher soil bulk density, bare soil, coarse fragment content), to the more productive, upper grasslands (higher litter cover, total soil C and aggregate stability). Projection of six exotic species functional groups into the PCA-environment space showed significant associations of winter annuals with the lower grasslands, versus perennials (both clonal reproducers and seed bankers) with the upper grasslands. Our analysis showed promise in identifying fine-scale linkages between plant community patterns and key environmental factors. This approach may be useful as part of a proactive management plan for maintaining the health of British Columbia grasslands. Key words: grassland plant communities, exotic species functional groups, principal component analysis, soil-topographic gradients, climate change. La gestion de plusieurs prairies de Colombie-Britannique se concentre sur la durabilite de leurs fortes valeurs naturelles et economiques a la lumiere des inquietudes soulevees par le changement climatique et la dissemination d'especes exotiques. A cette fin, une information scientifique relative aux relations entre la communaute vegetale, le sol et la topographie est necessaire afin de soutenir la prise de decisions souvent complexes a laquelle le gestionnaire doit faire face. Les auteurs ont recueilli des donnees sur la vegetation, la topographie et les proprietes du sol de 38 sites ?i travers un eventail de zones d'elevation et d'orientation dans le Lac du Bois Grasslands Provincial Park pres de Kamloops (Colombie-Britannique). L'analyse des grappes des donnees de la vegetation validait le systeme actuel a trois zones utilise dans la gestion du paturage, mais elle indiquait que les frontieres entre les communautes de plantes adjacentes sont disseminees en fonction de l'orientation. L'analyse en composantes principales (ACP) des variables environnementales a identifie un gradient des prairies moins productives plus basses (densite de masse du sol plus elevee, sol nu, contenu en fragments grossiers) vers les prairies plus productives plus elevees (couvert de litiere plus eleve, C total du sol, stabilite des agregats). La projection de six groupes fonctionnels d'especes exotiques dans l'ACP--espace environnemental a revele des associations significatives entre les annuelles d'hiver et les prairies plus basses, comparativement aux vivaces (reproducteurs clonaux et banques de semences) et les prairies plus elevees. L'analyse des auteurs s'annonce prometteuse pour identifier les liens a echelle fine entre les patrons des communautes vegetales et les facteurs environnementaux cles. Cette approche peut etre utile dans le contexte d'un plan de gestion proactif afin de maintenir la sante des prairies en Colombie-Britannique. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : communautes vegetales des prairies, groupes fonctionnels d'especes exotiques, analyse en composantes principales, gradients sol-topographie, changement climatique., Introduction The grasslands of British Columbia (B.C.) are an asset to the province's biodiversity, economy, natural beauty, and recreation. Their conservation value for numerous endangered plant and animal species and [...]

: Soil compaction often limits conifer regeneration on sites degraded by landings and roads, but inadequate understanding of the relationship between compaction and tree growth could lead to inappropriate soil conservation and rehabilitation efforts. We tested liquid and plastic limits, oxidizable organic matter, total carbon, particle size distribution, and iron and aluminum oxides on soil samples collected from five forest experiments in interior British Columbia. These data were used to estimate soil maximum bulk density (MBD) and relative bulk density (RBD); our objective was to relate RBD to tree growth. Height of interior Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Bessin) Franco) was limited when RBD was >0.72. For lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) and hybrid white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss X Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), RBDs of 0.60-0.68 corresponded to maximum height, whereas RBDs of 0.78-0.87 appeared to limit height growth. The presence of surface organic material mitigated compaction and was often associated with lower RBD. Our results illustrate the usefulness of RBD to assess compaction and suggest that soil rehabilitation should be considered on disturbed sites where soil RBD is >0.80. Resume: La compaction du sol nuit souvent a la regeneration des coniferes sur les sites degrades par les jetees et les chemins mais une comprehension inadequate de la relation entre la compaction et la croissance des arbres pourrait se traduire par des mesures inappropriees de rehabilitation et de conservation du sol. Nous avons teste les limites liquide et plastique, la matiere organique oxydable, le carbon total, la distribution de la dimension des particules et les oxydes de iron et d'aluminium sur des echantillons de sol preleves dans cinq experiences etablies en foret dans la partie interieure de la Colombie-Britannique. Ces donnees ont ete utilisees pour estimer la densite apparente maximale et la densite apparente relative (DAR). Notre objectif consistait a relier la DAR a la croissance des arbres. La hauteur du douglas de Menzies bleu (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Beissn.) Franco) etait reduite lorsque la DAR etait > 0,72. Dans le cas du pin tordu latifolie (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) et de l'epinette blanche hybride (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss X Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), une DAR de 0,60 a 0,68 correspondait a la hauteur maximale tandis qu'une DAR de 0,78 a 0,87 semblait limiter la croissance en hauteur. La presence de matiere organique en surface attenuait l'effet de la compaction et etait souvent associee a une DAR plus faible. Nos resultats illustrent l'utilite de la DAR pour evaluer la compaction et indiquent que la rehabilitation du sol devrait etre envisagee sur les sites perturbes ou la DAR est > 0,80. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction The use of heavy machinery in forest management often leads to soil disturbance and compaction, which in turn affect ecosystem stability and site productivity (Froehlich 1979; Wronski and Murphy [...]

The widespread use of heavy equipment during timber harvesting and site preparation can lead to reduced soil productivity and warrants development of new methods to assess compaction. We evaluated the effects of soil particle density, organic matter, particle size distribution, extractable oxides, and plastic and liquid limits on the maximum bulk density (MBD) of forest soils in British Columbia. Soil samples were collected from 33 sites throughout British Columbia, covering the major forest and soil types of the province. The standard Proctor test was used to determine MBD and related parameters, including the gravimetric water content ([W.sub.MBD]) and porosity ([f.sub.MBD]) at which MBD was achieved. The significance levels of single soil properties in predicting MBD were in the order plastic and liquid limits, organic matter, oxalate-extractable oxides, and particle size distribution. For all samples, liquid limit and day were most closely related to MBD ([R.sup.2] = 0.83). Addition of organic matter to the model increased the regression coefficients, and oxidizable organic matter caused a greater increase than did total C. Stratification of the sample set into groups based on plasticity led to higher [R.sup.2] values in multiple regressions, and different soil properties were important for nonplastic soils than for those with high, moderate, and low plasticity. Prediction with multiple regression explained the most variation in MBD for nonplastic soils, while properties of highly plastic soils explained the least variation in MBD and moderately plastic soils were intermediate. Based on our findings, we propose an approach for using MBD to help better interpret bulk density data in forest soil compaction studies. Abbreviations: BWBS, Boreal White and Black Spruce biogeodimatic zone; CDF, Coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone; CWH, Coastal Western Hemlock biogeodimatic zone; f, porosity; [f.sub.MBD], porosity at MBD; ICH, Interior Cedar-Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone; IDF, Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone; LTSP, Long-Term Soil Productivity Study; MBD, maximum bulk density; PCA, principal component analysis; SBS, Sub-Boreal Spruce biogeoclimatic zone; gravimetric water content at which MBD was achieved.

The article is a message from the editor of Natural Sciences Education (NSE) providing an overview of the journal's recent achievements and future plans. The editor has been involved with the journal since 2011 and has focused on diversifying the editor boards and authorship. The journal has published successful special sections and invited review papers, and the editor plans to oversee a new special section on the use of generative artificial intelligence in natural sciences education. The editor also aims to enhance the journal's exposure through social media, podcasts, and webinars. [Extracted from the article]

As instructors return to in-person teaching and learning following online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, we can build from the experiences gained and incorporate various online resources into our campus-based classes. Drawing from student evaluations of teaching, a postcourse student survey and learning management system (LMS) analytics, we documented students’ perspectives of online teaching and learning in a large introductory science course offered as a flipped classroom, and reflect on student and instructor perspectives as we return to campus-based teaching and learning. Results suggest that what students liked and what they perceived as effective often did not align, and that instructors need to consider good pedagogical practice when evaluating student comments. We identified strategies that we can carry forward to enhance our large introductory science course including a weekly course structure, synchronous classes and laboratories supported by asynchronous content, and taking advantage of recent advancements in online teaching and learning tools for discussion forums, practice exams and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil knowledge is essential to address modern global challenges. Soil science educa- tion began with soil survey and agricultural activities, with a focus on the traditional subdisciplines of soil chemistry, soil physics, pedology, soil mineralogy, and soil biology. Soil education has evolved to address the needs of an increasing variety of fields and increasingly complex issues, as seen through themove to teach soil content in programs such as biological and ecological sciences, environmental science, and geosciences. A wide range of approaches have been used to teach soil topics in the modern classroom, including not only traditional lecture and laboratory techniques but also soil judging, online tools, computer graphics, animations, and game-based learning, mobile apps, industry partners, open-access materials, and flipped class- rooms. The modern soil curriculum needs to acknowledge the multifunctionality of soils and provide a suite of conduits that connect its traditional subdisciplines with other cognate areas. One way to accomplish this may be to shift from the traditional subdiscipline-based approach to soil science education to a soil functions approach. Strategies to engage the public include incorporating soil topics into primary and secondary school curricula, engaging the public through museums and citizen sci- ence projects, and explaining the significance of soil to humanity. Soil education has many challenges and opportunities in the years ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]