Natasha drove out to the Sevilleta NWR in central New Mexico at the end of July. She and Jacob installed a network of Eosense FD, or “Forced Diffusion”, sensors to continuously measure the CO2 efflux from the soil. They instrumented a total of six plots within the Plains Grassland ecosystem type of the Sevilleta Mean-Variance Experiment. The data these sensors collect will help us understand how changes in amount and variability of precipitation inputs affect carbon cycling in the soil, complementing the data we are already collecting on-site with 72 phenocams across four different ecosystem types (Desert Shrubland, Desert Grassland, Plains Grassland, and Piñon–Juniper Woodland). Great job, Natasha and Jacob!
