INFLUENCE OF TWO CO2SOURCES ON SOIL pH AND ABOVE GROUND CO2 LEVELS

Carbon dioxide concentrations measured within and above a strawberry plant (Fragaria × ananassa) canopy were significantly higher during enrichment with carbonated water or 900 kg CO2 ha-1 hr-1 applied as gas. Both sources were applied to the base of the plants through drip irrigation tubing under a black polyethylene mulch (0.025 mm) covering or over bare unmulched soil. Mulch affected the concentrations at the top of the strawberry canopy differently for the two sources of CO2 enrichment. Carbonated water was found to reduce the pH of the calcareous soil at the research site (pH 8.2) during and between irrigations. The greatest single pH reduction was 2.6 pH units during irrigation measured in mulched soil; significant soil pH reductions were detected as long as 28 days after irrigation underneath the mulch. Soil pH “duration” below pH 7.4 was 70% greater considering mulch and carbonated water vs. no mulch and carbonated water irrigation.