Automated laboratory method for measuring CO2 emissions from soils
Date
2018-04-12Author
McGowen, Eric B.
Sharma, Sumit
Deng, Shiping
Zhang, Hailin
Warren, Jason G.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
A gas chromatography (GC) headspace method was developed for soil microbial respiration (CO2 emission) analysis after a 24-h incubation of a rewetted soil. The GC method was compared with the Solvita CO2 burst method by analyzing 18 different soils that were air-dried (22�C) or dried at 45, 65, and 105�C for 24 h before rewetting. A strong exponential relationship between the Solvita color number and GC headspace CO2�C emission was observed. Compared with air-dried soils, drying at 65�C led to increased CO2 emission and reduced variation among sample replicates, while drying at 105�C led to a reduction in CO2 emission and an increase in variability. The GC method does not require sample dilution, provides data that is highly correlated to the Solvita method, and has a wider dynamic test range than the Solvita method. The developed GC method could be adapted to automation for commercial laboratory use.
Citation
McGowen, E. B., Sharma, S., Deng, S., Zhang, H., & Warren, J. G. (2018). An automated laboratory method for measuring CO2 emissions from soils. Agricultural and Environmental Letters, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.2134/ael2018.02.0008