Soil Aeration Response to Draining Intensity in Basin Peat

Improvement in soil aeration was assessed following drainingto a range of intensity on a peatland afforestation projectat Flanders Moss in Central Scotland. A polarographic techniquewas used to measure oxygen diffusion rates in the rooting zoneof lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.)planted in 1965 on ploughed furrows. There were soil aerationdifferences because of draining intensity. Below the plantingturf oxygen diffusion rates rapidly decreased and tree rootingwas restricted to the surface layers. Aeration was found tobe closely correlated with depth of water in boreholes whichprovide a simple and reliable index of response to draining.Oxygen diffusion rate was a more sensitive means of assessingsoil aeration than oxidation-reduction potential at the lowoxygen concentrations encountered in the basin peat on the Moss.