TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF BIOGENIC GASES IN PEAT SOILS FROM WATER CONSERVATION AREA 3 IN THE EVERGLADES USING CAPACITANCE MOISTURE PROBES

The rate of biogenic gas production within the Everglades is not well quantified. The objective of this experiment is to test the applicability of capacitance moisture probes for estimating changes in biogenic gas content in peat soils from the Everglades (mainly in terms of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide) at high temporal resolution. Probes will be coupled with data loggers in order to collect measurements of moisture content, temperature and electrical conductivity automatically at ten-minute intervals and with gas traps in order to compare probe readings with direct gas releases. Results from this experiment will aid in estimating gas fluxes that occur on a regional scale and will better constrain biogenic gas release from peat soils. The experiments will intend to later incorporate changes in certain variables at the laboratory scale (such as temperature) to better understand how global warming may accelerate biogenic gas releases from the Everglades.