Soil Carbon Dioxide Sensors

Soils are rich ecosystems, composed of both living and non-living matter with a multitude of interactions between them. In fact, the diversity and abundance of life that exists within the soil is greater than in any other ecosystem. A handful of soil can contain billions of different organisms that play critical roles in supporting plant growth. Soils also provide a number of very important ecosystem services that range from nutrient cycling, waste decomposition, to water filtration and even flood prevention.

Soils around the globe have increased their emissions of carbon dioxide over the past few decades, according to a recent analysis of 439 studies. The findings, published in <a href=”http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100324/full/news.2010.147.html”>Nature in March of 2010, match predictions that increasing temperatures will cause a net release of carbon dioxide from soils by triggering microbes to speed up their consumption of plant debris and other organic matter. The RMBL sapflow sensors will allow researchers to monitor the release of soil carbon dioxide.

Soil carbon dioxide data are currently unavailable online.