The new year has arrived and I've been considering my options for the upcoming semester at school. Currently I'm signed up for genetics, evolution, applied & industrial microbiology and statistics. Alternatively, I could take genetics during the summer semester and take soil biology in the place of genetics this spring. Being interested in the role of microorganisms at the root-soil boundary, something like soil biology has the potential to be really interesting for a person like myself. Wanting to know more about what the course might entail, I decided to check the course description. Unfortunately the description didn't tell me anything beyond what could have been safely assumed from the name "soil biology."

Course Description:
"Ecology of soil microorganisms and fauna and their roles in soil organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling"

In a similar vein, the database on the campus bookstore's website doesn't have the course listed. Perhaps the instructor forgoes using a textbook altogether and instead discusses primary literature. That possibility notwithstanding, I spent some time browsing textbooks written about the field of soil biology. One that I found is The Biology of Soil by Richard Bardgett. For those interested in having a look, there's a free preview available through Google books for the text. Something else notable that I came across while searching  is that a Kindle Version of the textbook is available for around $50 US. While the Kindle version isn't likely to appeal to that many students, it's great to see somebody pursuing an electronic format for textbooks.

Without digressing into a five-thousand word essay about how long overdue electronic textbooks are, I will refer anyone who is interested in learning more about what soil biology is to the Wikipedia article and the reference links therein. Once the soil biology course begins I will drop in some periodic updates about its progress. During the meantime I will see about posting some new hydroponic gardening articles. Happy new years everyone!