Pockets of Open Space in Soil Are Necessary for Plant

Multiple Choice

Pockets of open space in soil are necessary for plant health. If these pockets are too large, however, plant health suffers. Why?

A) Large open pockets of air fill with carbon dioxide, which lowers the pH of the soil to unhealthy levels.
B) When a root encounters a large pocket of air it is less able to absorb the nutrients it needs because it is no longer in contact with the soil.
C) When a large pocket of air collapses it hits the root damaging it and making it more susceptible to infection.
D) Water is not retained well by large open spaces in the soil, which means that plant nutrients are readily leached from the soil.