TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF BIOGENIC GASES IN PEAT SOILS FROM THE EVERGLADES USING CAPACITANCE MOISTURE PROBES

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 readings every five minutes, and with gas traps in order to compare probe readings with direct gas releases. The ultimate purpose of this research is to better constrain biogenic gas releases from peat soils and thus estimate gas fluxes that can later be incorporated into current models of carbon fluxes. If successful the experiments can later incorporate changes in certain variables at the laboratory scale (such as temperature) to better understand how global warming may accelerate biogenic gas releases and thus affect climate.