AERATION , IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE
hy should we aerate ?
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To answer this , we need to acknowledge that the roots of all plants need to respire . They do not breathe as we do , but they need to absorb oxygen and emit Carbon Dioxide . Roots can only thrive where this exchange is possible , so where do the roots get their oxygen ?. The oxygen is in the air in the air spaces between the soil particles and this is why gardeners always aim to produce a soil with a crumb texture , which has air spaces between the crumbs . It follows that if these air spaces are closed , the roots have little or no oxygen to draw upon and will tend to die back away from such areas .
The soil loses airspaces by compacting whether under its own weight or because it has been loaded by passing feet , vehicles or materials stored on it . Even specialist grass machinery will eventually cause a compact layer to form to the detriment of the soil structure . Healthy plants need healthy roots and roots that are dying back from an area that has become compacted and is without air spaces cannot thrive . Healthy plants also need a thriving community of living things , be they bacteria , worms , insects , fungi or any other type of fauna and flora which all work to make soil nutrients available to the plant roots . This community needs oxygen to sustain it and without oxygen in the soil , the soil will sour and begin to stink as anaerobic bacteria which can live without oxygen take over and they produce Hydrogen Sulphide gas from their specialised respiration . Hydrogen sulphide is nasty stuff and kills plant roots rapidly .
If we want our plants to thrive , we must ensure that the air can penetrate the soil and we do this by aeration . So , to answer the question directly : we aerate to put air into the soil for the roots to use to respire and to keep the soil sweet . Aeration also allows water to percolate into the ground surface
GroundskeepingJournal . co . uk | January 2022 13