The course is intended to provide students with fundamental knowledge on soil chemistry, with particular emphasis on nutrient cycling in the soil/plant system. The course will also provide specific knowledge on processes and factors influencing nutrient mobility in soil and plant strategies for their acquisition. The course will provide the knowledge and skills that are fundamental to address specific problematic in the soil degradation and contamination. Besides, is intended to provide students with a key for the acquisition, through the practical experience of the laboratory, the theoretical elements of knowledge related to some analytical methods of determination of the main physical and chemical properties of soil.