The primary purpose of core aerification is the physical removal of unwanted organic matter from the upper portion of the rootzone. Solid tine, deep solid tine, or water injection aerification are other important forms of aerification, but they will not be addressed in this article. When core aerification is neglected, the upper portion of the profile can be an inhospitable place for plant roots to grow. The pore space in a dense organic layer will be dominated by small, water filled capillary pores and the large air filled macropores will be lacking. Oxygen is necessary for the plant to carry out respiration, which is the conversion of stored food to energy.
Respiration takes place in the roots and therefore, oxygen is vital to plant survival.
One of the most difficult parts of scheduling an aerification program is to determine how much aerification is adequate to manage the organic layer in the upper portion of the profile. There is no accepted rule of thumb for what percentage of surface area should be impacted each year, but it is safe to say there are more greens that have been aerified too little as opposed to too much. We will address these factors shortly. The amount of surface area impacted is a direct result of tine size, tine spacing, and frequency. If aerification has been neglected, a more aggressive program may be warranted.