Effects Of Soil Aeration Research Articles

The Effect of Soil Aeration, Moisture, and Compaction on Nitrification and Oxidation and the Growth of Sugar Beets Following Corn and Legumes in Pot Cultures

The Effect of Soil Aeration, Moisture, and Compaction on Nitrification and Oxidation and the Growth of Sugar Beets Following Corn and Legumes in Pot Cultures

EFFECT OF CARBON DIOXIDE ON ABSORPTION OF WATER AND NUTRIENTS BY ROOTS

The importance of soil aeration to plant development has been recognized since the beginnings of agriculture. As our knowledge of the physiology of roots has grown, the beneficial effects of soil aeration have been assigned to a stimulation of root growth (4) and thus an increase of root area and penetration, and more recently to a direct stimulation of aerobic processes of salt accumulation. Hoagland and his associates particularly have shown that the rate of mineral accumulation in roots containing respirable carbohydrates may be positively correlated with the oxygen supply (8, 24). Although many data upon the toxic effect of carbon dioxide on protoplasm are available, this phase of the soil aeration problem has been generally overlooked. Free (7) and Kramer (16) have shown a reduction of water absorption by roots with increased C02 concentrations. Hoagland and Broyer (9), however, thought the effect of C02 related to its displacement of oxygen, and Arrington and Shive (3) concluded that reduced C02 concentrations were not a factor in the beneficial effects of the aeration of a

EFFECT OF SOIL TYPE AND AERATION UPON ROOT SYSTEMS OF CERTAIN AQUATIC PLANTS

It is well known that the amount and movement of soil air are important factors in plant development. Because of the fact that many crop and aquatic plants are often forced to develop under conditions of minimal soil aeration, many investigations have been undertaken to determine the effects of restricted soil oxygen availability (1, 5, 7, 8, 14, 19, 20, 24). Such studies have disclosed that aeration is important in root respiration (8, 12, 20) , nutrient absorption (5, 6, 18, 20), rate of elongation (2, 6, 7, 8, 13, 21, 24), development of hair roots (11, 23, 24), aerenchyma formation (3, 16, 21), adventitious root development (10, 24, 25), as well as in modifications of the gross anatomy of the entire root system (6, 8, 9, 24). The many papers reviewed by Clements (8) indicate that the role of oxygen in root activity is a primary factor influencing, and in wet soils controlling, the functions of the root system that may determine the destiny of the plant. But few studies (2, 4, 17) have been made of root response in greatly increased soil aeration, although some data are available on the effects of culture solution aeration (6, 13, 18). This report embodies results of an experiment to determine the effects of soil aeration, increased well above the maximum usually encountered in nature, on several species of plants with relatively low oxygen requirements.