The University of Nebraska–Lincoln soil judging team placed fifth overall at the Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest hosted Sept. 27 to Oct. 2 by the University of Missouri–Columbia in conjunction with the Missouri Natural Resources Conservation Service state office. 78 students from Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Missouri State University, South Dakota State University, University of Minnesota, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska–Lincoln and University of Nebraska–Omaha traveled to the heart of the Ozarks region in southern Missouri to compete in the contest.
Five students from the School of Natural Resources represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s team:
- Lara Arnold, senior, environmental science
- Sydney Honaker, senior, fisheries and wildlife and environmental science
- Lauren Rice, sophomore, environmental science
- Diego Sanchez, senior, environmental science
- Fiona Wynn, sophomore, environmental science
The team earned fourth place in group judging and Honaker earned an award for placing eighth out of 78 competitors; Sanchez came in 12th and Rice in 18th.
Students spent the first three days traveling to 11 practice sites. Each site had three or four practice pits or soils for them to examine.
The contest provided valuable hands-on experience for students training to become soil scientists, land managers and agronomists; they evaluated the soil’s physical properties and site characteristics, then translated their observations into land-use recommendations.
“The Ozarks are geologically unique compared to the areas where most of the competing teams are located,” said Becky Young, coach and associate professor of practice in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. She explained that the Ozarks region was never covered by glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch — a period of repeated glacial advances and retreats over the Great Lakes and upper Great Plains — resulting in soils that are much older and have distinct characteristics.
“The soils were more oxidized than most soils in the Upper Great Plains and the Midwest. They’re very rocky with chert and fragipans – subsoil horizons that are dense, brittle and restrict water movement and plant root growth. They feel like rock or concrete when they’re dry.”
On day four, students split their time between two contest sites. Individual soil judging took place in the forest behind the Twin Pines Conservation Education Center and team-judging took place on private, forested land that included sinkhole and floodplain landforms.
Young says that that difference in weather in eastern Nebraska compared to southern Missouri was a major contributor in how much practice the team was able to get prior to the contest.
“Lincoln has received a lot of rain since July, so it was challenging for our team to find time where the soils were dry enough to practice before leaving for the competition,” Young said. “We also had to keep in mind that southern Missouri has been in a severe drought for most of the year, so the soils and pits were very dry and dusty, making them difficult to work with.”
Outside of the contest, the team explored the Ozark National Scenic Riverways Park and the Mark Twain National Forest, two areas that are dominated by steep, rugged hills and spring-fed streams.
“We immersed ourselves in the forests of those landscapes on a few short hikes, and learned about how the communities here started, adapted and survived in such a rugged area,” Young said.
To join the team, students must enroll in NRES/PLAS/SOIL 279 Soil Evaluation, a two-credit class offered each spring semester. Students can then enroll in NRES/PLAS/SOIL 379 Advanced Soil Evaluation to participate in additional soil judging contests in following fall and spring semesters.
Students should contact coaches Young and Judith Turk, pedologist with the Conservation and Survey Division in the School of Natural Resources, with questions or interest in signing up for either class.
