SitS NSF-UKRI: Collaborative Research: Dynamic Coupling of Soil Structure and Gas Fluxes Measured with Distributed Sensor Systems: Implications for Carbon Modeling

据估计，土壤中的碳含量约为大气的三倍，因此改善土壤管理在减缓气候变化方面发挥着关键作用。 然而，我们目前对土壤管理对碳循环和主要温室气体排放的影响的认识是有限的。 土壤碳排放主要受根系呼吸和微生物对土壤有机质（包括根际有机碳）的呼吸作用控制。 所有这些过程都对土壤结构高度敏感。 该项目利用分布式光纤传感技术和地下无线传感器网络技术，旨在将土壤结构的变化与主要温室气体的测量浓度联系起来。 这将提高科学的理解如何从植被的土地碳负荷发生在现场规模。 外联战略的重点是与更广泛的社区和专业人员接触，以提高对这些问题的认识，并提供探索解决办法的工具。 加州大学伯克利分校和科罗拉多矿业学院（CSM）的研究人员与英国Rothamsted Research（RR）的研究小组合作，将开发空间分布式测量技术，该技术基于使用埋地光纤和无线传感器网络传感器，以测量土壤应变、含水量和各种土壤气体的浓度。 其目的是在实地规模上以低成本准确测量关键的土壤-水参数。 将土壤气体生成与土壤结构变化联系起来的研究假设将通过在实验室中使用CSM的耦合多孔介质/气候风洞设施和RR的现场进行测量来进行检查。 这些数据将被用来探索的范围，包括微观土壤结构的土壤碳模型，从而提高我们的基本理解发生在不同的空间尺度的生化过程。 这些新的模型将在未来允许土壤管理对碳动态的影响进行预测，从而了解不同土壤管理策略的影响该项目是通过“土壤中的信号“机会获得的，美国农业部国家食品和农业研究所参与了一项合作征集活动，（USDA NIFA）和以下英国研究与创新（UKRI）研究委员会：1）自然环境研究理事会（NERC），2）生物技术和生物科学研究理事会（BBSRC），3）工程和物理科学研究理事会（EPSRC），和科学技术设施理事会（STFC）。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

It is estimated that soil contains approximately three times as much as carbon as the atmosphere, and improving soil management thus plays a critical in mitigating climate change. However, our current understanding of the effects of soil management on carbon cycling and the emission of major greenhouse gases is limited. Carbon effluxes from soils are largely controlled by root respiration, and microbial respiration of soil organic matter including rhizospheric organic carbon. All of these processes are highly sensitive to soil structure. Using the distributed fiber optic sensing technology and underground wireless sensor network technology, this project aims to link the changes in soil structure to the measured concentrations of major greenhouse gases. This will improve the scientific understanding of how carbon loading from vegetated land occurs at field scale. The outreach strategy is focused on engaging with the wider community and the profession to raise awareness of the issues and provide tools to explore solutions. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Colorado School of Mines (CSM), in collaboration with the research group at Rothamsted Research (RR) in the UK, will develop spatially distributed measurement technology, based on the use of buried fiber optics and wireless sensor network sensors, to measure soil strain, water content and the concentrations of various soil gases. It aims to accurately measure critical soil-water parameters at low-cost at the field scale. The research hypothesis that links soil gas generation to soil structure changes will be examined by conducting measurements in the laboratory using the coupled porous media/climate wind tunnel facility at CSM and in the field at RR. These data will be used to explore the scope for including microscopic soil structure in soil carbon models and hence improve our fundamental understanding of biochemical processes occurring across various spatial scales. These new models will in the future allow the effects of soil management on carbon dynamics to be predicted, and hence give an understanding of the impact of different soil management strategies (e.g. tillage) on soil sustainability.This project was awarded through the "Signals in the Soil (SitS)"opportunity, a collaborative solicitation that involves the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) and the following United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) research councils: 1) The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), 2) the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), 3) the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.