Measuring Change in Biosphere Flashcards
How can measuring the tree diameter measure changes in the biosphere?
It i expected that roughly 50% of a tree’s biomass is carbon and so by measuring changes over time we can measure carbon changes over time
What height do you measure the tree’s diameter?
1.4m above ground level
What is the harvest method?
By placing a mesh layer above ground you can collect the above ground environmental litter
What is the problem with the harvest method?
It does not record below ground/ root litter
What is the Chamber method?
Using dark chambers with an infrared gas analyser to record the respiration of autotrophs and light chambers with a IRGA to measure NPP
What is a problem with the Chamber method?
They are not good for upscaling but are good at flux separation
What is an example of using the Chamber method?
International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)
What are Eddy Covariance Towers?
These measure various aspects of the landscape over a wide region.
Give an example of a use for Eddy Covariance Towers
Flask sampling - recording the gases and other parts of the air that are then contained within flasks and sent off for analysis. This was used to produce the Mauna Loa atmospheric CO2 graphs since 1958.
What is remote sensing?
Satellites measure photosynthetically active radiation. With the knowledge of the amount of incoming radiation to the earth they can calculate vegetation albedo. They can also measure plant growth.
