Garden with Insight v1.0 Help: Tool action functions: aerate soil

We added the soil aeration function to the EPIC base for the small garden. Aeration reduces the soil's bulk density in each soil layer down to the tool's depth by a simple linear relationship based on the observation that the bulk density of "loose soil" is around 1.0. The porosity is then recalculated from the adjusted bulk density.

In a real garden, aeration is especially important if the soil has been walked on. Soil compaction (increase in bulk density and decrease in porosity) makes it harder for plant roots to penetrate to areas of the soil that have more water. This is one reason many people use raised soil beds and/or paths between soil beds to avoid compaction while tending plants.

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