Wirelessly Controlled Modular Automatic Chambers for Greenhouse Gas Flux Monitoring in Natural and Agricultural Ecosystems: design, building instructions and bill of materials
Description
Closed chamber method is widely used for measuring greenhouse gas fluxes (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O) in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Automatic chambers are essential for a long-term monitoring with high temporal resolution, but their production typically demands significant time, labor and expertise. While ready-to-use commercial solutions are available, many projects avoid them because of their high prices. We present a cost-effective and scalable alternative: modular automatic chambers built from off-the-shelf components. These chambers feature integrated valves and wireless controllers, enabling flexible deployment without the need for multiplexers. Systems can be easily expanded by adding more units. Our modular chambers have been successfully deployed in Arctic and subarctic field studies: • North-eastern Greenland: natural wet tundra, two sites, 5 + 5 chambers, three summer seasons, CO₂ and CH₄ flux monitoring. • Northern Finland: natural boreal fen, 2–12 chambers, year-round measurements over three years, CO₂ and CH₄ fluxes. • Northern Norway: cultivated drained peatland, 30 chambers along a 300 m transect, three growing seasons (May–November), CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O fluxes. Across all sites, the chambers demonstrated reliability, ease of construction, operation, and maintenance. While further improvements are always possible, the current design offers a practical and accessible solution for the broader scientific community.
Files
Institutions
- Aarhus Universitet
- Oulun Yliopisto
- Norsk Institutt for Biookonomi