Aeration, Biology

Assignment Help:

Aeration

A well-aerated soil is one in which gases are available to plant roots and other soil organisms, in sufficient quantities and in proper proportions to support their normal respiratory activities. It is important that oxygen which is necessary for soil biota is continuously renewed to support metabolic activities.

A soil which is considered well aerated must have the following two characteristics. First, sufficient space for air movement should be present. Second, there must be ample opportunity for the ready movement of gases into and out of the soil. Soil aeration is an important factor having far reaching influence on the metabolic activity of plant roots and other soil organisms. Continuous supply of oxygen in the soil is necessary to sustain soil organisms.

One of the most apparent effects of poor soil aeration is the reduction in the rate of organic matter decomposition, which you might recall is an essential process to maintain soil fertility. The reduced rate of break down of organic matter is due to the lack of oxygen rather than from the built up of carbon dioxide. Accumulation of organic matter in swampy areas shows that the lack of oxygen retards the decomposition of organic matter.

Aerobic soil organisms are unable to survive in the absence of gaseous oxygen. For example, bacteria that are responsible for the oxidation of nitrogen and sulphur are relatively ineffective in poorly aerated soils. This is also true for the symbiotic nitrogen fixers and some of the free living nitrogen fixers such as azotobacter.

Higher plants are also adversely affected by poor soil aeration because the root growth is curtailed; nutrient and water absorption is adversely affected; and certain toxic elements accumulate in poorly aerated soils.


Related Discussions:- Aeration

What is the probability of two individuals, What is the probability of two ...

What is the probability of two individuals (AaBBccDd and aaBbCcDd) having a child with the following genotype AaBBCcDD?

What is contact plate method - food microbiology, What is Contact Plate Met...

What is Contact Plate Method? Contact Plate (RODAC - Replicate Organism Direct Agar Contact) Method - Contact plates are special petri plates containing suitable agar media wit

What are the different radiographic techniques, Q. What are the different r...

Q. What are the different radiographic techniques used for assessing osseointegration? The different radiographic techniques used to assess osseointegration prior to stage 2 su

Chlorocruorins - respiratory pigments, Chlorocruorins - Respiratory Pigment...

Chlorocruorins - Respiratory Pigments These types of respiratory pigments are found in four polychaete families: Sabellidae, Serpulidae, Ampharetidae and Chlorhaemidae. The pi

Suberin, SUBERIN It is a lipid formed by esterification of phellonic ac...

SUBERIN It is a lipid formed by esterification of phellonic acid or its derivative with glycerol. Suberin occurs in the walls of cork cells and endodermal cells. It makes

Explain the lamarcks theory in evolution, Explain the Lamarck's Theory in e...

Explain the Lamarck's Theory in evolution? Prior to Darwin, most people believed in and held to the creationist viewpoint that species were created in their current forms, whic

Heavy metals require for the normal finctioning of our body, Q. Heavy Metal...

Q. Heavy Metals require for the normal finctioning of our body? Like the foods we consume, our bodies also contain many metallic elements. Most of these metals are actually r

Chromosomes/genes/heredidty, Plot the amount of DNA in the nucleus of a spe...

Plot the amount of DNA in the nucleus of a spermatogonia from the G1 stage prior to the first meiotic division through the completion of meiosis. Label each of the major stages of

What is class gastropoda in animal kingdom, What is Class Gastropoda in ani...

What is Class Gastropoda in animal kingdom? Snails and slugs are referred to as gastropods because of their characteristic body plan. "Gastro" is derived from the Greek word fo

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd