Technical
air and its importance within the soil profile. The benefits of air in the soil include healthier plant rooting, freer exchange of nutrients and their availability and increased soil microbial activity.
Historically, getting air into the soil has been talked about in terms of machines and products that encourage air in the rootzone, with benefits often short-lived. Seldom have we heard aeration being talked about in terms of managing lower average moisture contents annually.
Saturated upper soil profiles
Where we have organic matter content that encourages excessively high average moisture levels, air levels within the soil profiles will be inherently lower for larger portions of the year. With lower average air content within the soil, we can expect less of the benefits of aeration. Perhaps one of the key benefits of higher air content in the soil is natural breakdown of organic matter. The exact quantification of the amount of organic matter broken down by microbial content is difficult to estimate but, to help imagine its potential, simply watch grass clippings and leaf piles decrease in size. Without air and the presence of
excessively saturated rootzones, this breakdown in organic matter either doesn’t occur or operates at a significantly reduced rate, further accelerating the rate of organic matter accumulation in the upper soil profile, or increasing the amount of dilution or
physical removal required, at notable cost in both resource, time and lost golfing revenue. As a result of this, it needs to be
recognised that organic matter accumulation will vary significantly depending on rainfall, type of green construction, green shaping and capacity to shed water and the amount of organic matter already present. Some clubs will have to work harder at reducing organic matter than others in order to achieve its successful management, which will subsequently result in better and easier moisture management.
Getting to grips with our moisture contents
The first step to getting control of moisture content is knowing exactly where it is. This means having a monitoring programme in place as, without this, we can only make guesstimates as to its exact level, but this is insufficient in our changing economic and environmental climate.
Upon identification of higher annual moisture content than desirable, the next step is to determine whether drainage, rootzone and/or organic matter is the cause of this moisture retention. Upon determination of excessive
organic matter causing higher average moisture contents - noting this is the most common of causes - there is very little in the way of alternatives to reducing your greens’ average annual moisture content than the reduction of
organic matter in the upper soil profile. Reducing organic matter is a difficult operation that can rarely, if ever, be implemented without impact and some level of disruption of greens surfaces. In the next article in the organic matter series, we cover the management and reduction of organic matter.
Charles Henderson HND, BA, BASIS, RIPTA, Agronomy Director
Sports Agronomy Services Ltd.
www.sportsagronomyservices.com
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 PC 119
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