SITES Röbäcksdalen’s most monitored field just became even more high tech! A new eddy covariance flux system was just installed by Victor Manabe (SITES Röbäcksdalen) and Eric Larmanou (SITES Svartberget) in Field 12 to replace the old system. The new eddy covariance system was funded by Kempestiftelserna through their support of a new project titled ‘Carbon and water fluxes in northern agricultural grasslands.’ The project is an interdisciplinary effort between the Department of Crop Production Ecology (SLU), the Department of Forest Ecology and Management (SLU), and SITES Röbäcksdalen to share expertise, explore carbon and water fluxes in ley systems in northern Sweden, and assess the implications of sown species diversity on soil carbon sequestration.
In addition to the flux tower, Field 12 is also equipped with a phenocam and NDVI sensor in collaboration with SITES Spectral, a soil moisture probe, and two Arable Mark 3 sensors. These technologies complement SITES Monitoring of Umeå’s Research Fields (SMURF) where crop management data is collected to monitor the yield and forage quality of conventionally managed cropping systems. The combination of these data will allow researchers to examine the carbon and water balance of agricultural systems in northern Sweden and track the implications of management on crop productivity and carbon sequestration potential.
Field 12 at Röbäcksdalen Field Research Station in Umeå is monitored by various sensors to collect data on carbon and water fluxes, plant phenology, soil moisture, vegetation indices, and multispectral reflectance (photo: Brooke Micke)