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CSA News Calls Out Recent NGEE-Tropics Research2 min read

by Christina Procopiou on February 22, 2021

Climate and Ecosystem Sciences Division

Image of the research study area as shown in a paper describing NGEE-Tropics research into soil-moisture variation published in Vadose Zone Journal. (a) Location of the pits at the Tropical Silviculture Experimental Station near the city of Manaus in the central Amazon, Brazil; (b) installation of soil water sensor at 1.5 m inside the wall using a custom‐designed device; (c) sensor installed at 1.5 m inside the wall; and (d) pit face after sensor installation.

 

CSA News, the magazine of three related societies: the Agronomy Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, published an article in its January 2021 issue describing research led by research scientist Robinson Negrón Juárez, on behalf of the NGEE-Tropics project. The article highlights a paper published recently in the Vadose Zone Journal, which evaluates soil moisture dynamics in Amazon tropical forest.

Soil moisture plays an important role in the hydrological, biogeochemical, and energy budgets of terrestrial ecosystems. Logistical constraints can make it difficult to obtain accurate soil moisture measurements in remote ecosystems such as the Amazon. The paper described the work of researchers, including Juárez, Jeff Chambers, and Boris Faybishenko, to develop a field‐based calibration of time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors in a central Amazonian old‐growth upland forest. The team set out to evaluate how well the calibrated sensors work to determine changes in soil moisture at various depths extending 14.2 meters below ground, and across different time intervals in wet and dry seasons. They found soil moisture varied significantly by depth and over time due to soil-texture differentiation, root uptake depths, and event and seasonal precipitation. Results of this study help to enhance our understanding of eco-hydrological processes within tropical forests, and to improve model representation of these systems in the context of changing environmental conditions. 

News & Events

Former Intern Emily Nagamoto Wins AGU Award1 min read

March 27, 2023

Former Science Undergraduate Laboratory Intern (SULI) Emily Nagamoto received an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Outstanding Presentation Award, which honors exceptional presentations given during AGU’s 2022 Fall meeting. She was mentored by Staff Scientist Charuleka Varadharajan and Postdoctoral Research Fellow Mohammed Ombadi during her Summer 2022 SULI term. Currently an undergraduate student in Duke University’s Nicholas…

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

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