Soil Microbiome Online Course
100% Online Study
1-on-1 Tutor Support
Any Device, Any Time
Self Paced Study
Soil Microbiome Online Course – Learn What Underpins Soil Health
This course is essential learning for anyone who works in plant production, farming or horticulture, such as (but not limited to):
- Wetland specialist
- Watershed or drainage basin technician
- Hydrologist
- Environmental technician
- Soil and water quality specialist
- Conservationist
- Agricultural or Crop Consultant
- Landscaper
- Farmer
- On-site land evaluation
- Soil scientist
- Research technician
- Town planner
- Crop production specialist
- Research scientist
Why Is Learning About Soil Microbiomes Essential?
- For achieving high productivity in all farming
- For production of healthy plant stock
- For Sustainable Production
- For Pasture Management
Detailed Course Outline
This course is made up a number of lessons or units. Each of these has self assessment questions, a set task (practical homework) and an assignment which you can upload online.
There are 9 lessons in this course:
1. Nature and Scope of the Soil Microbiome
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- Nature of soil
- Soil Structure & Texture
- Soil Structure and Porosity
- Soil Structure Research
- Topsoil Thickness
- Nutrient Components
- Carbon and Nutrient Content
- Carbon Retention
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Sulphur
- Other Important Indicators of Soil Health
- Acidity (pH)
- Salinity
- Environmental Factors Affecting Soil Health
- Drought
- Frost
- Erosion
- Water Retention
- Nature of soil Microbes
- Bacteria
- Archaea
- Viruses
- Fungi
- Protozoa
- Scope of the Soil Microbiome
- Plant-Microbe Relationships
- Microbe Interrelationships
- Changes to the Soil Microbiome
- Key Definitions and Concepts for Understanding Soil
2. Analyzing the Soil Microbiome Status
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- Measurement vs. Monitoring in Soil Biology
- Things the Soil Microbiome can Help Measure or Monitor
- Types of Soil Biological Testing and Analysis
- Deciding on the Right Type of Test
- Overview of Different Testing Types
- Cotton Strip Assay
- Microbial Activity Using Basal Carbon Dioxide Respiration
- Microbial Biomass
- Identification Through Culturing
- Potentially Mineralizable Nitrogen
- Biologic Plates
- Microarrays
- Community Profiling
- More Advanced Approaches to the Microbiome: Omics
- Transcriptomics
- 16S rRNA
- PCR
- PCR-ELISA
- Bioinformatics
3. Human Impact on Microbiomes
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- Land Development and Urbanization
- Changes in Land Use and Microbial Communities
- Problems with land development on soils
- Climate Change
- Pollution
- Air Pollution
- Deposition
- Precipitation
- Erosion
- Microplastics
- Anti-microbials
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Monocultures
4. Soil Substrates and Additives
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- Soil Substrates
- Inorganic Substrate Materials
- Perlite
- Vermiculite
- Sand
- Rockwool
- Organic Substrate Materials
- Peat
- Coir
- Bark
- Soilless Substrates and Microbes
- Substrate Technology
- Substrate Engineering
- Substrate Evaluation
- Novel Technologies used in Substrate Management
- Tomography
- Rhizometrics
- Mini-Horhizotron
- Rhizometer
- Inorganic Additives
- Organic Additives
- Manures
- Compost
- Fungal Additives
5. Conventional vs Organic Soil Management
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- Conventional Practices
- Soil Carbon Modelling
- Organic Practices
- Composting
- Crop Rotations
- Cover Crops
- No Tillage Farming
- Organic Pest & Disease Control
- Weed Control
- Rotational Grazing
- Livestock Management
- Biodynamics
- Biodynamic preparations/sprays
6. Soil Fertility Management
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- Soil Management Strategies
- Soil Organic Matter
- Cover Crops
- Cocktail Cover Crop
- Legume Crops
- Longer Crop Rotations
- Reduced Tillage
- Planting Trees
- ORGANIC Additives
- Soil Humus
- Building Soil Humus
- Humates
- Composting
- Animal Manures
- Microbial Inoculants & Microorganisms
- Use of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) Inoculants
- Specific Inoculums
- Protozoa Tea
- Earthworms
- INORGANIC ADDITIVES
- Gypsum
- Lime
7. Plant Interactions with a Microbiome
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- Soil Organisms
- Function of Plant Microbiome
- Effect of Non-native Species
- Soil Microbiome and Plants
- Plant-Soil Feedback
- Plant-Microbe Associations
- Examples of Plant-Microbe Associations with Plant Families & Species
- Effects of Different Microbes
- Other Associations
- Cover Crops & Grapevines
- Crop Rotations & Microbiomes
- Types of Cover Crops & Microbiomes
8. Pest and Disease Interactions with a Microbiome Biopesticides
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- Advantages of Biopesticides
- Biological Control Agents
- Microbial Pesticides
- Advantages of Microbial Insecticides
- Entomopathogenic Fungi
- Protozoa
- Bacteria
- Engineering Microbial Inoculants to Suppress Disease
9. Soil Regeneration Practices
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- Restoring the soil microbiome
- Practical Methods Which Benefit the Soil Microbiome
- Reducing soil disturbance
- No tillage (Zero Tillage)
- Advantages of no till farming
- Controlled Traffic Farming
- Advantages of Controlled Traffic Farming
- Increasing crop diversity & ORGANIC matter
- Alley Farming
- Cover Crops
- Mulching & Composting
- Biochar
- Increasing soil microbes
- Microbial Inoculation
- Plant Breeding and Microbiome Engineering
When you have completed the lessons of your Certificate course, you will be given the option of taking the optional exam. It’s okay if you don’t want the exam, we still issue your Careerline Certificate. For Advanced Certificates however, the exam is compulsory (per module) and are included in the course fee.
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Flexibility You Need
We understand what you need. We offer flexible payment terms, flexible study options while giving you the structure to succeed.
1-on-1 Support
Our tutors are the best, handpicked not only for their expertise but for their passion to share and help others learn and grow.
Easy Study Schedule
Our courses are self paced. You set your own study schedule to fit around your life. Study from home on any device, at anytime!
F.A.Q's
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Can I Study from Home?
Yes! Our courses are designed specifically for that. You can study our courses from nearly anywhere in Australia or even globally. You will need an internet connection and a connected device. -
Help! I'm Not A Digital Native!
Don't Panic! It's ok, many of our students left school a long time ago, and many others are still new to online learning. We will help you each step along the way from enrolment, course access, completing your first module, getting your feedback and contacting your support tutor. We understand that it might not feel familiar to you, but we're here to help. -
Can I take a Study Break?
Study with us is self-paced so that should generally be fine. But if you’ll be taking a few months off, it is best to contact Student Services so we can put your account on hold. We allow a one-time course suspension (free of charge) of up to 6 months, depending on the student’s course end date. -
Are there Start Dates?
We accept enrolments all year round, thus our motto “Anytime, Anywhere”. Students can start their course upon enrolment or put it off at a later date. However, please do note that the courses have set end dates. If you’re starting at a later date, please let us know. -
Can I have a Payment Plan?
Yes, please scroll down to the bottom of the page for all of our payment options. - Is the Course Self Paced?Yes this course is self paced. Work at your speed through the material. We have found students do best when submitting only one assignment at a time and waiting for feedback before submitting the next. We allow 24 months duration within which you may finish the course within your own timeframe.
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Our Promise To You
There are a lot of options for online learning, and we’re glad that you’ve decided to look into Careerline. We want to be your go-to learning spot, so we’ll make you these promises:
You’re never just a number. You’re a student with goals and challenges and we want to help you in any way we can.
Your goals matter. Whether you’re just starting a new hobby or trying to transform your career, your goal is important and it’s worth your time and our devoted attention.
When you reach out, we respond. You’re wondering right now, “Will they take my money and disappear?” When you join, you are part of the family. Need something? Just contact us and we’ll get right back to you. Have questions, concerns, or feedback about your learning? We love talking about learning, and we love talking to our customers, so we can’t wait for you to get in touch.
7 Day Refund if you are not satisfied. If you are not satisfied with our service or content we will happily refund your money. Terms & Conditions do apply.
Our Courses
First and foremost our courses are 100% online courses BUT they are still very practical! You will learn many practical skills, do some research, field trips and much more.
All learning is best done by doing, so our online courses are designed to give you the foundation knowledge you need and to get you out there and doing whatever it is that you love.
This sets our students up for success.
- 100% Online
- Practical
- Certificate issued on completion
- 1-on-1 tutor support
- Flexible payment options
- Self paced study
Getting where you want to go with your studies and/or career, involves much more than just reading or watching a video. Knowing how to learn, how to research and find out new information, how to judge if the source of information is any good and how to find out what is happening in your industry and creating a network are vitally important! Our courses will help you do all that.
We have mini self assessment tests so that you can be the judge of how well you understand the material and then a set task where you will undertake some form of practical exercise. But best of all is the one-on-one expert tutor feedback you get with each task you submit.
Online study can by difficult but our tutors are there to help you every step of the way.
First and foremost our courses are 100% online courses BUT they are still very practical! You will learn many practical skills, do some research, field trips and much more.
All learning is best done by doing, so our online courses are designed to give you the foundation knowledge you need and to get you out there and doing whatever it is that you love.
This sets our students up for success.
- 100% Online
- Practical
- Certificate issued on completion
- 1-on-1 tutor support
- Flexible payment options
- Self paced study
Getting where you want to go with your studies and/or career, involves much more than just reading or watching a video. Knowing how to learn, how to research and find out new information, how to judge if the source of information is any good and how to find out what is happening in your industry and creating a network are vitally important! Our courses will help you do all that.
We have mini self assessment tests so that you can be the judge of how well you understand the material and then a set task where you will undertake some form of practical exercise. But best of all is the one-on-one expert tutor feedback you get with each task you submit.
Online study can by difficult but our tutors are there to help you every step of the way.