What Is Soil Oxygenation?

Significance

• Oxygen in the soil allows plant roots to breathe and prevents the roots from suffocating or dying. The presence of oxygen in the soil is also necessary for plants to take up nutrients they need to survive, including phosphorus and nitrogen.

Materials

• Certain materials can be mixed into plant soil to increase the air spaces between soil particles. Some materials include pebbles as well as vermiculite and perlite, which are forms of minerals. Adding inorganic matter to the soil will help increase the soil oxygenation without altering its nutrient content.

Methods

• There are many ways to increase the amount of oxygen in soil. Some of these include incorporating the previously mentioned aggregates into the soil to create more spaces for airflow. Additional soil types such as sand can be mixed into the current soil to create a less dense soil that allows for the formation of air spaces. In addition, watering plants deeply but less frequently as opposed to frequent, shallow waterings can help. Deep waterings will push more water and therefore more oxygen deep into the soil.

Problems

• Without adequate oxygen in the soil, plant roots can suffocate. The amount of oxygen in the soil also determines how deep roots can go into the ground, as they tend to stop growing deeper once there is less oxygen in the soil.