CHAPTER FIVE

GAS TRANSPORT IN SOIL

Contents
• Importance of soil air
• Composition of soil air
• Factors affecting composition of soil air
• Amount of soil air
• Characterizing soil air
• Soil aeration process
• Exchange of gases between soil and atmosphere
• Bulk flow of gas
• Gas diffusion
• CO2 diffusion in soil profile
Objective
• At the end of the chapter, students will be able to understand:
• The composition and transport of gasses through the soil and their major role in the
dynamics of soil physical processes affecting plant and microbial habitats.
Importance of soil air
• Soil aeration is important to:
• Facilitate plant and root growth: When the supply of oxygen is inadequate, the plant
growth either retards or ceases completely as the accumulated CO2 hampers the growth
of plant roots.
• Increase microorganism population and activity: The deficiency of air (oxygen) in soil
slows down the rate of microbial activity and microorganism population.
• Avoid formation of toxic material: Poor aeration results in the development of toxin and
other injurious substances such as ferrous oxide, H2S gas, CO2 gas etc. in the soil.
• Facilitate water and nutrient absorption: Under poor aeration condition, plants exhibit
water and nutrient deficiency
• Avoid development of plant diseases: Insufficient aeration of the soil also lead to the
development of diseases.
Composition of soil air
• Soil air contains a number of gases of which nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water
vapor are the most important.
• Soil air and atmospheric air differ in the compositions:
• Soil air contains a much greater proportion of carbon dioxide and a lesser amount of
oxygen than atmospheric air.
• Soil air contains a far greater amount of water vapor than atmospheric air.
• The amount of nitrogen in soil air is almost the same as in the atmosphere.
• The composition of the soil air varies with depth and time:
• The concentration of CO2 increases and that of O2 decreases with depth because of
biological activity in the soil (respiration of plant roots, micro-organisms and soil
fauna).
Composition of soil air
Factors affecting composition of soil air
• Main factors that affect composition of soil air are:
• Nature and condition of soil
• Type of crop
• Microbial activity
• Seasonal variation
Composition of soil air
Factors affecting composition of soil air
Nature and condition of soil
• The quantity of oxygen in poor aerated soil air is less than that in atmospheric air.
• The amount of oxygen also depends upon the soil depth.
• The oxygen content of the air in lower layer is usually less than that of the surface soil.
• This is possibly due to more readily diffusion of the oxygen from the atmosphere into
the surface soil than in the subsoil.
• The concentration of CO2 is usually greater in subsoil probably due to more sluggish
aeration in lower layer than in the surface soil.
• Light textured soil or sandy soil contains much higher percentage than heavy soil.
• Waterlogged soil contains less O2
Composition of soil air
Factors affecting composition of soil air
Type of crop
• Plant roots require oxygen, which they take from the soil air and deplete the concentration of
oxygen in the soil air.
• Soils on which crops are grown contain more CO2 than fallow lands.
• The amount of CO2 is usually much greater near the roots of plants than further away. It may
be due to respiration by roots.
Composition of soil air
Factors affecting composition of soil air
Microbial activity
• The microorganisms in soil require oxygen for respiration and they take it from the soil air
and thus deplete its concentration in the soil air.
• Decomposition of organic matter produces CO2 because of increased microbial activity.
Hence, soils rich in organic matter contain higher percentage of CO2.
Composition of soil air
Factors affecting composition of soil air
Seasonal variation
• The quantity of oxygen is usually higher in dry season than during the rainy season. Because
soils are normally drier during the months in the dry season, opportunity for gaseous
exchange is greater during this period. This results in relatively high O2 and low CO2 levels.
• Temperature also influences the CO2 content in the soil air.
• High temperature during dry season encourages microorganism activity which results in
higher production of CO2.
Amount of soil air
• The volume fractions of gas and water are each other’s complement; together they fill the
available pore volume.
• The volume fraction of gas generally decreases with depth in a soil profile due to:
• Decreasing porosity as a result of compaction,
• Biological activity, and
• Increasing water content.
• The critical volume fraction of gas for plant roots depends on the kind of plant and many
other factors.
• A volume fraction of gas of 5 – 15 % is generally considered adequate.
Characterizing soil air
• Soil air can be characterized by:
a. Content of oxygen and other gases in the soil
b. Air filled porosity
c. Oxidation reduction potential
Characterizing soil air
Content of oxygen and other gases in soil
• The main differences between soil air and atmospheric air are the concentrations of oxygen
and carbon dioxide
• Soil air always has lower oxygen levels.
• But has greater carbon dioxide levels (8 to 300 times greater, because CO2 is given off as a
result of microbial and root respiration in the soil)

Gas % in atmosphere % in soil air

O2 20.95 20.42
N2 78.08 78.08
Ar 0.934 0.934
Co2 0.035 0.56
Other 0.001 0.001
Characterizing soil air
Air filled porosity
• Air filled porosity may be defined as the volume fraction or percentage of soil mass
occupied by air when water of a saturated soil is drained by normally 100 cm suction
• Recall, ideal soil composition for plant growth = 50:50, air and water
• Air filled porosity of less than 20% has been found to severely limit plant growth
• High soil moisture cause oxygen deficiency by blocking diffusion of O2 to replace that used
by respiration in the soil
Characterizing soil air
Oxidation reduction potential
• It indicates the oxidation and reduction states of soil system.
• In oxidized soil, ferric (Fe3+), Manganic (Mn4+), Nitrate (NO3-) and sulphate (SO4 2-) ions
dominate.
• In reduced soil, ferrous (Fe2+), manganous (Mn2+), ammonium (NH4+) and sulphides (S2-)
are present.
• Measure of potential of a substance to accept or donate electrons
• If oxidation and reduction is high the substance is called oxidizing agent.
Soil aeration process
• Soil aeration is a process by which air in the soil is replaced by air from the atmosphere.
• Soil aeration takes place due to the difference in composition of soil air with that of
atmospheric air.
• In well aerated soils, the soil air is similar to the atmosphere, while poor aerated soil
contain < O2 and > CO2 than the atmosphere.
• Soil aeration is vital process as it largely controls the soil levels of O2 and CO2
• Poor soil aeration occurs under two conditions:
• Excessive moisture
• Very slow gaseous exchange
• The composition of soil air at any time is the results of two sets of rate processes such as:
a. The rate of production of CO2 and consumption of O2
b. The rate with which carbon dioxide is escaped from the soil and be replaced with
oxygen.
Exchange of gases between Soil and atmosphere
• Soil aeration process is achieved by gaseous exchange
• The more rapidly roots and microbes uses up oxygen and
release carbon dioxide, the greater is the need for exchange
of gases between the soil and the atmosphere.
• Exchange of gases between soil and atmosphere is
achieved through two mechanisms:
• Mass flow: gas exchange is due to fluctuations in water
content of soil that force air in and out.
• Diffusion: gas exchange is by partial pressure
Exchange of gases between Soil and atmosphere
Convection
• The convective flow of air in soil occurs as a result of the total pressure difference between
the soil air and outer atmosphere.
• The pressure difference is caused as a result of:
• O2 consumption by plant roots
• CO2 production in the soil
• Change in the barometric pressure in the atmosphere
• Change in soil temperature
• Change in moisture content or water table depth of soil due to evaporation, drainage, or
water supply by rainfall or irrigation.
Exchange of gases between Soil and atmosphere
Convection
 

• Convection of air in soil is predominant for shallow depths and in soils with large pores.
• The convective flow of air in the soil is similar to water flow and is proportional to the
pressure gradient across the flow domain.
• However, since air is compressible, the density and viscosity are also the functions of
pressure and temperature.
• The one-dimensional convective flow can be given by

where is the permeability of air filled pore space, and viscosity of soil air
• If the density of soil air is , then air flux (qv) expressed as mass flow per unit area per unit
time is
Exchange of gases between Soil and atmosphere
Diffusion
 

• Transport of gases is due to differences of partial pressure of individual gases although total
pressure may be same in both.
• The mass rate of transfer of a diffusing gas through a unit area of bulk soil is proportional to
the concentration gradient measured normal to the surface through which diffusion is taking
place.
• The diffusion of gasses can be represented by the following one dimensional equation:
(occurs at steady state)
Where,
is the rate of transfer of mass per unit area (g cm-2 s-1)
D is the diffusion coefficient in the bulk air (cm2 s-1)
C is the concentration of diffusing substances (g cm-3),
x is the distance of diffusion (cm),
Exchange of gases between Soil and atmosphere
Diffusion
 

• But in case of gaseous diffusion partial pressure P is used instead of C

• The rate of gas diffusion in the soil (Ds) is a function of the aeration porosity (a) and
tortuosity coefficient of the soil
• For non linear relation Buckingham proposed the relationship:
• For linear relationship,
Where,
is coefficient of diffusion through the bulk air,
is tortuosity coefficient,
= rate of gaseous diffusion in soil.
CO2 diffusion in soil profile
 • CO2 concentration in the gas phase of a soil generally increases with depth.
• Root development and activity is limited to the topsoil because CO2 concentration
increases with depth .
• If the production rate and the diffusion coefficient of CO2 for the soil are known, the CO2
concentration as a function of depth can be calculated for relatively simple conditions
(steady state)
, where is production rate of
• Mass concentrations of CO2 can be converted to partial pressures by the ideal gas law
Examples
 1. For a soil of dry bulk density 1.2 g/cm3, particle density 2.65 g/cm3 and a constant water content of
0.2m3/m3, calculate the amount of O2 and CO2 in the soil for:
a. Water content retained at 0.2 m3/m3
b. If 1cm depth of water is removed by evaporation or drainage
c. If 1 cm depth of water enters the soil matrix.
Assume air replaces water instantaneously and concentration of dissolved air does not change.
2. 40 cm deep homogeneous soil matrix is at uniform water content of 25%. If the density of soil air is
1.275 kg/m3, and ratio equal to 60, calculate the convective flow through soil if the pressure head
difference is 10 cm.
3. The top 10cm of a field soil has a dry bulk density of =1.4Mg/m3 and a volumetric water content of
0.25 m3/m3. The O2 concentration measured at the soil surface is 0.28kg/m3. At the 10cm depth, the
O2 concentration is 0.05 kg/m3. Assume that the O2 diffusion coefficient in air = 2*10-5 m2/sec
a. Estimate the soil O2 diffusion coefficient, Ds for the top 10cm of the soil
b. Calculate the steady diffusive flux of O2 through the 0 – 10 cm depth of the soil profile