A Case Study of Street Tree Soil Aeration in Two Different Soil Types

Antti S. Kämäräinen, Anu Riikonen, Asko Simojoki, and Leena Lindén

Abstract: This study compared the soil air composition in structural and conventional tree soils used for roadside plantings in the City of Helsinki, Finland. Soil air samples, collected from three depths during the growing seasons of 2012 and 2013, were analyzed for oxygen concentrations. The effect of soil cover on the soil–atmosphere gas flux was evaluated using relative gas diffusion coefficients as estimated from in situ measurements of CO2 fluxes and CO2 concentrations in soil air. The average O2 concentrations were higher in structural than in conventional soil air in both years. No obvious depth profile for the O2 concentration was detected. Structural soil aeration appears more favorable for root growth than aeration in conventional tree soil. However, soil aeration was also sufficient for healthy tree growth in the conventional soil. Cobblestone paving did not severely impair ground ventilation as compared with a cast-iron grate.

Keywords:

https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2018.015