Soil carbon flux: an important data in carbon budget research

CO in the air₂ The rapid rise of climate change will have a huge impact on the future climate, and this issue has gradually become a focal point of international political and economic research.

Soil respiration study on net CO produced by soil₂ The amount of gas produced by soil is an important indicator of soil microbial activity and also an indicator of soil health. The carbon flux of soil is affected by various environmental factors, such as organic matter content, soil moisture, and soil temperature.

The respiration of organisms in natural soil is the main source of carbon. Understanding the relationship between soil carbon flux and other element fluxes is beneficial for our research on global climate issues.

In order to facilitate researchers to monitor soil carbon flux in the field for a long time, we have developed the ACE Soil Carbon Flux Monitoring System. While monitoring carbon flux, we can also monitor some environmental factors that interfere with carbon flux, which is beneficial for researchers to accurately judge soil carbon flux data.

ACE performance

Integrated CO inside the breathing chamber₂analyzer

Each breathing chamber is equipped with a built-in high-precision infrared gas analyzer, which effectively reduces the distance between the breathing chamber and the gas path, avoids errors caused by the gas path, and can reflect CO in the breathing chamber more quickly₂Concentration changes. The experimental operation has become simpler, making it more convenient for field use.

Long term unmanned operation in the wilderness

ACE is designed to be highly automated and user-friendly, with the breathing chamber automatically opening and closing during the measurement cycle. Researchers can set the sampling time interval, and during measurement, the breathing chamber will automatically close. When not measuring, the breathing chamber will automatically open to reduce the disturbance to the soil caused by the measurement. When the breathing room is opened, the system automatically adjusts to a low-power state to ensure long-term use in the field. The unique arm style design is suitable for field measurements, ensuring the sealing of the breathing chamber and guaranteeing reliable data for researchers.

A complete system

Each ACE workstation is a complete and integrated soil carbon flux system, including an aluminum alloy breathing chamber, leaf chamber arm, and control unit that can record and display data. Therefore, each workstation can be used independently.The ACE workstation can use batteries, solar panels, and wind power as power sources. A 40Ah lead-acid battery is sufficient for about 28 days of use.

Easy to install

The ACE system is highly integrated, with no exposed air connection pipes, so there is no need to perform air connection before the experiment begins. The control unit consists of a large LCD screen and five buttons, making it convenient for single machine operation without the need to connect to a computer. The data of gas exchange, carbon flux, and sensor data of other environmental factors can be recorded through the ACE control unit and saved to the machine's flash memory.

Open and Closed Circuit Modes

ACE measurement can be open circuit measurement or closed circuit measurement. During measurement, the breathing chamber is in a closed state, and the concentration difference of the reference gas entering the breathing chamber reflects the soil respiration situation.

Humidity and temperature data, etc

As for the PAR sensor in the breathing room,Can connect up to 6 soil temperature and 4 soil moisture sensors.

ACE networked workstation (multi-point)

The ACE system is only suitable for single point measurement. Multiple ACE systems can form a networked workstation, and a central control unit can connect 32 ACE workstations. It is also suitable for monitoring 32 points, and the distance between each ACE system and the central control unit can reach 100 meters. Our built-in analyzer is located in the ACE breathing room, so the connection between the ACE system and the central control unit is only one signal line, making installation very simple and suitable for field measurements. There is no need to pump the gas from the distant breathing chamber to the central control unit for measurement, avoiding errors. Each ACE system supports hot swapping with the central control unit.

Technical specifications of ACE system

CO₂ Measurement range:0 - 600 ppm（26.8 mmols m^-3）Accuracy of 2 ppm

Measurement mode:Open or Closed Circuit

PAR measurement range:0 - 3000 µmols m^-2sec^-1Silicon film

Soil temperature:6 Hotspot Sensor

Soil moisture:FDR Soil Moisture Sensor

Respiratory chamber gas flow rate r:100-500 ml min^-1

Gas flow velocity accuracy:+/- 2% of f.s.d.

Display unit:240 x 64 point LCD display screen

Operation:Five button operation

dataFlash storage of data

Built in battery:12V standby 1.0 Ah battery

SupplyElectrical system:External lead-acid battery, solar panel, wind power source

RS232 output:19200 baud

Electrical connection:3-pin connector, waterproof, suitable for outdoor use

Size:82 x 33 x 13 cms

Closed loop blade chamber size:2.7 L

Open circuit blade chamber size:1.0 L

Breathing chamber diameter:23 cm

Weight:7.0 kg

Central control unit

Structure: Iron sealing system

Connection: 32 ACE interfaces, two external power interfaces

Size: 30 x 30 x 15 cms

application

Soil respiration, determination of microbial quantity per unit volume of soil, plant respiration, forest canopy CO₂Profile, root respiration, growth chamber or greenhouse monitoring, animal and insect respiratory physiology, microbial activity and biodegradation, ecological physiology (carbon balance), climate change, environmental control

Origin: ADC, UK