SOIL COMPACTION AND ROOT GROWTH Essay Example

Report on the impact of Soil Compaction on root and the yielding of plants

Introduction

This is the report of an experiment on soil compaction, the resultant change in porosity as a result of the compaction, and its impact on the growth of plants. The exactly same pant species is germinated in soils of different compaction. The measurements of each plant are then taken with the subsequent recording of the shoot height, root length, and the compaction pressure. The compaction pressure is increased constantly through the increase of the volume of the soil into similar volumes of containers.

Taking the soil properties that affect soil compaction such as the bulk density of the soil and its strength, various plant species have different responses in their success in thriving in such soils. In addition to the strength of such soil, the stage of development at which a pant is also determines the chances of its success in soils of different compactions. The stronger the soil, the greater its resistance to the growth of the roots, and the reason behind some of the root patterns.

Hypothesis: soil compaction affects plant yield because of the impact on the penetrability of the soil and the subsequent absorption of water and minerals from the soil

Key Words: Compaction, roots, shoot, plant yield, absorption, penetrability,

Materials and Methods

The materials of the experiment include moist soil, water, containers of the same volume, and water. There is also measuring apparatus for the measure of the volume of the soil for the calculation of its bulk density. The experiment consists of the growth of plants in the same type of soil but with different levels of compaction. The compaction is achieved through the compression of different volumes of soil into cylinder containers of standard volumes and panting the pants in each. The plants are grown for two weeks and the measurements taken on the third week. The compaction is achieved through the manual compression of the different volumes of soil into each of the containers. The increment of the density is varied by the increase of the volume of the soil by 450g.

The plants put in the soils of the different densities show different characteristics in the lengths of their stems and roots. The compaction pressure is directly proportional to the density of the moist soil but the variations in the root weight are not different across the different soils. There is no significant difference in the root weight of the plants planted in the different soils of the different densities.

For the plants planted in the soil with 0kPa, the shoot height varies between 14cm and 20.75cm. The root lengths for the sale measure between 71.11cm and 191.72cm. The plants in the soil of 350kPa show significant difference 51cm and 175.2cm. The majority of the roots, however, oscillate around 150cm. The stem heights vary between 13.15cm and 23.3cm. The soils with a compaction pressure of 700kPa have root lengths that measure between 62.22cm and 153.5cm. The majority of the roots are those below 130cm. The stem lengths measure between 12.95cm and 23.25cm. The results of the soils of 1400kPa show root lengths measuring between 14.93cm and 78.15cm and stem lengths measuring between 11.25cm and 24.25cm. The stem length that measures 5cm is excluded and considered to be a possible anomaly in the plant and its genetics.

Refer to graphs 1, 2, and 3 to compare the compact of soil compaction on the various characteristics of the plants such as the length of the roots and the stems and the nature of their relationship with the soil compaction.

There is plasticity in the absorption of water from the soils of different compaction levels. The more compact the soil, the more the water retention in each. The water retention is a result of the lack of the absorption of the same amount of water by the plants planted in each. The explanation is in the impact of compaction in the absorption of air, nutrients, and water by the plant. One of the reasons for the different levels of absorption is the difficulty in the penetration of the soil by the roots. The reduced aeration and water and minerals absorption by the roots causes stomatal resistance and the high likelihood of impeded growth of the plant. The short stems across the various degrees of compact soils can be explained using this theory of stomatal resistance and impeded water and nutrient absorption further up the plant[CITATION Głą09 m TGl13 l 1033 ].

Discussions

The experiment proves the existence of a relationship between compaction pf oil and plant growth and possible yield. Besides the differences in the root distribution of the plants grown in the normal non-compacted soil and the compacted soils of different densities, the mechanical impedance of the high compacted soils inhibits the growth of the roots to their full length. The results vary across plant species but the trend is similar if similar plant species are compared. The explanation is in the difficulty in the penetration of such roots to the soil. Stomatal resistance as a result of the high compaction results in the lack of transport of adequate nutrients to the stem, preventing most of the stems from achieving their full height as in the non-compacted soils.

Conclusions

Soil compaction determines the growth and yield of plant because of the amount of resistance created for the roots and the success of the absorption of air, water, and nutrients by the roots or the lack thereof. The experiment shows proof of the impact of soil compaction on the growth of the stems and roots and the reduction of the ability of the roots to absorb water in the plants in the highly compact soil. The experiments and results prove the hypothesis that soil compaction affects plant yield because of the impact on the penetrability of the soil and the subsequent absorption of water and minerals from the soil.

Appendix A

Figure 1: The relationship between compaction pressure and bulk density

Appendix B

Figure 2: The impact of compaction pressure on root length

Appendix C

Figure 3: The impact of compaction pressure and shoot height

Appendix D

Figure 4: The impact of compaction pressure on root weight

Works Cited