Research Guides: Biosystems Engineering & Soil Science: Open Educational Resources

What are these resources?

On this page you will find several openly licensed textbooks, along with supplemental material, interactive learning objects, and other resources. This is not an exhaustive list of open educational resources (OER) in this field, but highlights some of the content that might be useful to those considering adopting OER for their classes.

Open Textbooks

Alternative Fuels from Biomass Sources
Toraman, Hilal Ezgi. Pennsylvania State University.
Biofuels and Sustainability: Holistic Perspectives for Policy-making
Takeuchi, Kazuhiko; Shiroyama, Hideaki; Saito, Osamu; Matsuura, Masahiro. 2018. SpringerNature.
Genetics, Agriculture, and Biotechnology
Suza, Walter; Lee, Donald. 2021. Iowa State University. CC BY-NC-SA.
How Nitrogenase Works
Hickey, William. 2023. University of Wisconsin - Madison.
Introduction to Biosystems Engineering
Holden, Nicholas M; Wolfe, Mary Leigh; Ogejo, Jactone Arogo; Cummins, Enda J. 2021. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.
Keywords: biosystems engineering, food and bioprocessing, environment, buildings and infrastructure, information and communications technology and data, machinery systems, energy
Methods for Measuring Greenhouse Gas Balances and Evaluating Mitigation Options in Smallholder Agriculture
Rosenstock, Todd S.; Rufino, Mariana C.; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Wollenberg, Lini; Richards, Meryl. 2016. SpringerOpen.
NCBI Bookshelf
The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Bookshelf provides free online access to books and documents in life science and healthcare.
Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition
Moorberg, Colby J.;Crouse, David A. 2017. New Prairie Press.

Other Open Materials

Open Soil Science
The goal of Open Soil Science is to provide instructors with the resources they need to effectively teach the world about soils and soil science.
Virtual Soil Science Learning Resources
Educational tools and courses addressing basic soil science principles, soil classification, land-use impacts on soil quality, and raising awareness about soil as an important natural resource.