Abstract

VENCE, Lilia Beatriz. Water-air availability in plant substrates. Cienc. suelo [online]. 2008, vol.26, n.2, pp.105-114. ISSN 1850-2067.

The study of the physical properties of substrates for container plant production is very important because the water and air availability for plant roots is involved. A substrate must contain a sufficient amount of available water and air to produce an optimum plant growth and development. Worldwide, the study of the properties that determine the water and air availability started from soil sciences and has been evolving to the present existence of a great variety of products that can be used, concomitant with the identification of parameters and specific measurement methods for the physical characterization of the substrates. In Argentina, the study of plant substrates is a new area under development and it demands an interdisciplinary work that should agree with a common language of technical terms, the election of specific analytical methods of reference and an updated legislation for substrate materials. A critical assessment of the great amount of information provided by other countries could be adapted to our reality and our materials. In this review, we listed the most important concepts for the physical evaluation of the substrates as the foundation for a better understanding and discussion of the subject.

Keywords : Physical properties of the substrates; Air-filled porosity; Water-air relationship; Water release curve; Nonsaturated hydraulic conductivity.

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