The Influence of the Application of Soil Conditioners on the Temperature and Moisture of the Soil Environment

Abstract

In cities, environmental and social impacts are increased every year due to high temperatures due to the heat island of the city. An effective struggle against the heat island of the city is the green infrastructure, where woody plants such as trees and shrubs play an irreplaceable role. Wood in the city is affected by a number of stress factors, especially high temperatures and lack of precipitation. In order for them to perform all their important functions and help reduce the negative impacts of the city's heat island, all requirements for their successful development and growth must be fulfilled. Soil conditions are an important factor affecting the condition of trees. Unsuitable soil conditions which include lack of water, compacted soil, result in insufficient development of the root system which directly affects the quality of the above-ground part of the plants. A possible treatment to improve the soil environment in the root zone of trees is the use of soil conditioners applied in the form of soil injection. The paper deals with the effect of soil conditioners (Hydrogel®, mycorrhizal mix Endomyk PROF + Trichoderma, and their combination) in the form of injection on the temperature and humidity conditions of the soil environment in a young plants of trees (species) Acer campestre L. in the city of Znojmo (South Moravia region). Plants without application of any preparation served as a Control variant. Before the actual application of conditioners MINILOG data loggers with temperature sensors and VIRRIB moisture sensors were placed in the soil which recorded changes in soil temperature and volumetric soil moisture in six-hour intervals every day in the period from February 2021 till December 2022. These changes were recorded in two profiles 0.1 - 0.4 and 0.4 - 0.7 meters. From the recorded results, it can be said that the application of soil conditioners had a significant effect on the temperature and humidity conditions of the soil environment. The variant with the soil conditioner Hydrogel® and the variant with the soil conditioner Hydrogel® in combination with the mycorrhizal mix in most cases show higher values of soil moisture and temperature compared to the Control variant. This trend is most evident in the soil profile of 0.4 - 0.7 m in the growing season.