Detector of soil respiration: IRGA4soil
Soil CO2 respiration from microorganisms and biodiversity is key to detecting soil health. Healthy soil benefits agriculture, nutrition, and forests. IrGAS4soil is an affordable and easy-to-build tool using an Infrared Gas Analyzer (IRGA) to quickly measure CO2 flux from soil. It logs data to Google Sheets and is portable for monitoring soils in cities, farms, and forests.
Maker
Erika Ronchin
Erika Ronchin is a volcanologist and soil scientist currently focused on studying the effects of bio-based fertilizers on agricultural soils. Her passion for understanding vulnerable soils was sparked by observing the declining health of urban soils and witnessing a devastating wildfire that severely impacted her local environment. These aspects motivated her to develop affordable instruments to monitor soil conditions and understand how to keep it healthy.