Soil aeration

The ability of soil to have air that makes it favorable for plant growth.

A well aerated soil is one in which gases are available to growing aerobic
organism (higher plants) in sufficient quantities and in the proper proportions
to encourage optimum rates of the essential metabolic processes of these
organisms.

Characteristics of good aerated soil

A soil in which aeration is considered satisfactory must have at least two
characteristics.
First, sufficient space devoid of solids and water should be present.
Second, their must be sufficient opportunity for the ready movements of
essential gases into and out of these spaces.
Furthermore,
 The supply of oxygen, a gas constantly used in biological reactions,
must be constantly renewed.
 At the same time, the concentration of CO2, the major product of these
reactions, must not be allowed to buildup excessively in the air space.
Two biological reactions largely accounts for these O2 and CO2 changes are:
i. Respiration of higher plant roots.
In it, the plants absorb free molecules of oxygen (O 2) and use them to
create water, CO2 and energy.
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
 During respiration, plants reuse the sugar, already stored in plants, to
help it grow.
 Respiration, unlike photosynthesis, does not use energy from the sun.
therefore, respiration can occur in darkness.
ii. The aerobic decomposition incorporated organic residues by
microorganisms.
 Soil aeration problems in the field

Under actual field conditions, there are generally two situations which may
result in poor aeration in soils:
i. When the moisture content is excessively high, leaving no room for
gases
ii. When the exchange of gases with the atmosphere is not sufficiently
rapid to keep the concentration of soil gases at desirable levels.
Excess moisture:
In this case, a water logged condition is established.
 Such situation is found on poorly drained fine textured soils having a
minimum of microspores through which water can move rapidly.
 The greater the bulk density, the less easy it for air and water to travel
through soil.
 It also occurs in soil normally well drained if the rate of water supply to
the soil surface is sufficiently rapid.
 Such complete saturation of soil with water can be disastrous for certain
plants in a short time, a matter of a few hours being critical in certain
plants.
 Prevention of this type of poor aeration requires the rapid removal of
excess water either by land drainage or by uncontrolled runoff (the flow
of water that occurs, when excess storm water flows over the earth
surface).
Gases interchange
The seriousness of inadequate interchange of gases between the soil and free
atmosphere above it is dependent primarily on two factors:
a. The rate of biochemical reactions influencing the soil gases
b. The actual rate at which each gases is moving into and out of the soil.
Obviously, the more rapid the usage of O2 and the corresponding release of
CO2, the greater will be the necessity of the exchange of gases.
Temperature and organic residues are the important factors affecting these
biological reactions.
 Mechanisms that facilitate the exchange of gases between the soil
and the atmosphere above it:
i. Mass flow
ii. Diffusion
 Mass flow of air is actually due to pressure differences between the
atmosphere and the soil air.
 The soil and air temperatures, baromatric pressure, and wind movement
are the factors that affect the mass flow of air.
 Gases exchange by mass flow mechanism is generally non-significance.
 This may be due to the less air pressure gradient between soil and
atmosphere.
 Most of the gaseous interchange in soils occurs by diffusion.
 Through this process each gases tends to move in a direction determined
by its own partial pressure.
 Diffusion allows extensive movement form one area to another even
though there is no overall pressure gradient.
 Thus, even though the total soil-air pressure and that of the atmosphere
may be the same, a higher concentration of O2 in the atmosphere will
result in a net movement of this particular gas into the soil.
 An opposite movement of CO2 and water vapor is simultaneously taking
place since the partial pressure of these two gases are generally higher in
the soil air than in the atmosphere.
 Soil air composition
The soil air contains a number of gases of which
nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour
are the most important.
Soil air constantly moves from the soil pores into the
atmosphere and from the atmosphere into the pore
space.
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 and nitrogen
than atmospheric air.
At the same time, soil air contains a far great amount
of water vapour than atmospheric air.
 Composition of soil and atmospheric air

Percentage by volume

Nitrogen Oxygen Carbon dioxide

Soil air 79.2 20.6 0.3

Atmospheric air 79.9 20.97 0.03

 Factors affecting the composition of soil air
1. Nature and condition of soil:
 The quantity of oxygen in 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.
 This is because the total pore space as well as the average size of the
pores is generally much less in the deeper horizons.
 Light texture soil or sandy soil contains much higher percentage than
heavy soil.
 The concentration of CO2 is usually greater in subsoil probably due to
more slow aeration in lower layer than in the surface soil.
2. 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.
3. 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.

4. Seasonal variation:
 The quantity of oxygen is usually higher in dry season than during the
monsoon.
 Because soils are normally drier during the summer months, 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 summer season encourages microorganism
activity which results in higher production of CO2.
 Aeration in relation to soil and crop management
Measures encouraging soil aeration fall into two categories:
(a) Those designed to remove excess soil moisture
(b) Those concerned with the aggregation and cultivation of soil.
 Both surface and subsurface drainage systems are essential if an aerobic soil
environment is expected.
 For sufficient oxygen to be supplied, the removal of excess quantities of
water must take place.
 The maintenance of stable soil structure is an important means of
augmenting good aeration.
 Pores of macro size, usually greatly encouraged by large stable aggregates,
are soon freed of water following a rain, thus allowing gases to move into
the soil from the atmosphere.
 Organic matter maintenance by addition of farm manure and growth of
legumes is perhaps the most practical means of encouraging aggregate
stability, which in turn encourages good drainage and better aeration.
 In heavy soils, however, it is often impossible to maintain optimum aeration
without the mechanical stirring of the soil by some type of cultivation.
 Thus, in addition to controlling weeds, cultivation in many cases has a
second very important function-that of aiding soil aeration.
 Yields of row crops, especially those with large tape roots such as sugar
beet, are often increased by frequent light cultivation that do not injure the
fibrous roots. Part of this increase, undoubtedly, is due to aeration.
Crop-soil adaptation
 Beside the direct methods use for controlling soil aeration, Crop-Soil
Adaptation is an another important practical phase that can be successfully
used for soil and crop management.
 The seriousness of oxygen deficiency to a large degree on the crop to be
grown.
 Alfalfa, fruit and forest trees, and other deep rooted plants require deep,
well-aerated soils and are quite sensitive to a deficiency of oxygen, even in
the lower soil horizons.
 Shallow-rooted plants such as grasses, conversely, do very well on soils
which tend to be poorly aerated, especially in the subsoil.
 These facts are significant in deciding what crops should be grown and
how they are to be managed in areas where aeration problems are acute.
 Soil Temperature
Importance of soil temperature
In cold soils, chemical and biological processes are slow. Biological
decomposition is at near standstill, thereby limiting the rate at which
materials such as nitrogen, sulfur, phosphors and calcium are made
available.
For example,
 Nitrification does not begin in the spring until the soil temperature reaches
about 400F, the most favorable limits being 80 – 900F.
 Plant process such as seed germination and root growth occur only above
certain critical soil temperatures.
 The absorption and transport of water and nutrient by higher plants is
adversely affected by low temperature.
 Different plants require different optimum temperature for the best growth.
 Also, for the same plant, different plant process require different optimum
temperature.
For example,
 Corn germination require 45 – 500F and is optimum near 1000F. Dry matter
production for corn is optimum when soil temperature is 80 – 850F.
 Potato tubers develop best when the soil temperature is below 60 – 700F.
 Oat grow best at about 70 0F, although the roots of this plant apparently do
better when the soil temperature is about 600F (Fig. 10:7).
Effect of freezing and thawing
 Frost action along with later thawing is responsible for some of the
physical weathering which takes place in soils. As ice forms in rock
crevices it forces the rocks to apart, causing them to disintegrate.
 As ice forms in rock crevices it forces the rocks apart, causing them to
disintegrate.
 The alternate freezing and thawing subjects the soil aggregates and clumps
and rocks to pressures and thus alters the physical setup in the soils.
 Freezing and thawing of the upper layers of soil can also result in heaving
of perennial forage crops. Frost heaving of alfalfa results when repeated
freezing and thawing pushes the tap root and crown out of the soil.
Factors affecting soil temperature in the fields
a. The net amount of heat the soil absorbs
b. The heat energy required to bring about a given change in the
temperature of a soil
c. The energy required for changes such as evaporation, which are
constantly occurring at or near the surface of soils