Soil amendment testbed for assessing climate impacts of microbial and other soil amendments
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Description
Portable, soil-core -based test bed for evaluating impacts of microbial and other soil amendments on plant growth, soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. The testbed uses soil cores to retain natural soil stratification and can adjust soil hydrology to match field conditions using wick technology. It can be ran in laboratory, greenhouse and growth chamber conditions to reduce need/cost for field trials for testing under current and future climates.
Capability Bounds
The testbed can operate 50 soil cores simultaneously and we expect to be able to run 3-4 experiments/year depending on the experimental design and duration.
Unique Aspects
Soil amendment climate impact testing in field soils in laboratory conditions. The soils retain natural stratification and field-like hydrology. Sampling ports for soil pore water, soil carbon, soil moisture and temperature. Greenhouse gas emission measurements.
Availability
Availability by research collaboration with LANL experts.
Benefit
The soil amendment testbed uses soils from areas of research interest. Measurements can be tailored for user demands. Portable: can be operated in climate controlled growth chamber with or without vegetation.
Capability Expert(s)
Sanna Sevanto
