T not been kind for trees and turf. Increasingly,
AERATION, IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE
Suffolk-based Terrain Aeration has specialised in one-metre deep soil aeration to relieve compaction, panning, and waterlogging nationally for over thirty years.
Terrain Aeration injects polymer for trees
he summer months have
T not been kind for trees and turf. Increasingly,
year on year, we are seeing the effects of climate change across our landscape as droughts persist. Trees in parks, golf courses, public and amenity areas, turf on sports pitches through to lawns in private gardens have all suffered from the lack of rainfall. The ground becomes hard and compacted to a considerable depth, and when the rains do come, this often leads to standing surface water and waterlogging.
Suffolk-based Terrain Aeration has specialised in one-metre deep soil aeration to relieve compaction, panning, and waterlogging nationally for over thirty years. While that takes care of the drainage and aeration when it’ s very wet there remains the opposite problem of grass and tree roots not getting enough water in periods of drought. It’ s a problem addressed by the same machine, Terrain Aeration’ s Terralift system, that aerates the soil at depth by releasing compressed air via its one-metre depth probe. As that fragments the soil to create fissures and cracks to allow drainage and aeration, the probe can also inject water-storing polymer. Once in place, the polymer will expand one-hundredfold with rainwater or irrigation water, which it stores for the turf or tree roots to take up as needed. It’ s a one-way system, so the polymer does not take water from the roots.
In this way, we will be able to make better use of what water we have, and it’ s a very long-term process as the polymer takes a long time to degrade. Spreading the polymer on the surface is not practical, as when it rains it turns into a gel, making the area dangerous to walk and play on. Injecting it into the ground using the Terralift machine offers the best, most beneficial, and wholly costeffective method, says the company. Terrain Aeration is the only operator of the Terralift in the UK, and the treatment has proven itself since 1985. There are different versions of the machine to treat large open spaces such as sports grounds, golf courses, and avenues of trees, and to negotiate narrow accesses onto bowling greens and gardens. Anywhere from airports to zoos.
Terrain Aeration www. terrainaeration. co. uk 01449 673783
36 GroundskeepingJournal. co. uk | September / October 2025