Elevated Carbon Dioxide in the Soil: Interaction with the Soil Physical Factors That Affect Root Growth

In Chapter 2, we studied the composition of the soil atmosphere. We noted that, in addition to aeration, the three soil physical factors that affect root growth are water, mechanical impedance (compaction), and temperature, but did not consider each factor individually. In this chapter, we discuss the interaction of each factor with oxygen or CO2 in the soil and how this interaction affects root growth.