Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Relative Soil Aeration In A Cultivated Prairie Pothole, Alan Olness, J. A. Staricka, J. A. Daniel, G. R. Benoit, J. L. Rinke

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Many small prairie potholes receive surface runoff from their catchments and serve as a focal point of ground water recharge. Soil aeration controls the solubility and form of many soil chemicals. Platinum electrodes are sensitive to oxygen and provide a very sensitive indicator of its presence. Electrodes were installed at the 15-, 30-, and 45-cm depth across two transects within a shallow, cultivated depression which serves as a recharge site for groundwater. Soils on the rim of the depression remained aerobic throughout two consecutive cropping years even at 45 cm. Soils within the depression became anaerobic briefly in the first …