Soil Respiration Chamber
2Pages

Soil Respiration Chamber For LCi and LCpro+ portable photosynthesis systems Field robust accessory for the accurate analysis of CO2 flux in soil Also suitable for grass and fruit photosynthesis Accurate soil flux measurements Minimised pressure gradients Insensitive to wind Easy to fit in field Field robust Field soil respiration measurements. Soil respiration or soil CO2 flux can be defined as the net CO2 production from soil, primarily as a result of soil microbial biomass decomposition. Soil flux is the largest natural source of atmospheric CO2 and therefore there is a growing interest in its activity across a range of environmental research disciplines. High quality soil chamber design ADC BioScientific Ltd. has developed a new high quality soil respiration chamber for use with the ADC LCi and LCpro+ portable photosynthesis systems. The chamber comprises a lower stainless steel collar and a detachable upper compartment which connects directly to the chamber handle of an LCi or LCpro+ system. Differential CO2 flux measurements are made by the highly accurate, miniaturised CO2 IRGA, located directly adjacent to the soil chamber in the handle of the LCi and LCpro+ systems. The collar is inserted into the soil prior to measurements being made ensuring optimal positioning of the chamber, regardless of soil condition or type. A collar insertion tool is provided to aid this placement. The chamber is specifically designed for short-term measurements. Great care has been taken in the design to ensure that no unwanted influences affect the soil flux data. Minimised pressure gradients: Pressure variations in some chamber designs can lead to an artificial suppressing or enhancing of CO2 flux from the soil. The incorporation of a novel pressure release valve ensures that there is no difference between the chamber head space pressure and the outside ambient atmospheric pressure. The chamber is also insensitive to wind. There is no change in measured data when air flows over the chamber at varying speeds and in different directions. A soil temperature sensor is supplied as standard with each chamber. The LCi or LCpro+ PAR sensor can be mounted on the top of the soil chamber. Automatic configuration The soil chamber is easily fitted and exchanged in the field. Once connected to either the LCi or LCpro+, the systems can be automatically configured to measure and display soil flux data rather than photosynthesis measurements.

Laboratory multiple sample soil respiration (and fruit photosynthesis) Spatial distribution studies The availability of additional soil collars allows researchers to perform multiple soil flux measurements on a large field site. Each collar being used to define a separate analysis area. These stainless steel collars can be left in the soil enabling long-term comparative studies to be performed. Alternatively adapters are available allowing researchers to use standard size soil waste pipes as multiple collars. The soil chambers can also be used for measuring multiple soil samples in a...