Soils are an important sink for carbon and reduce the CO₂ content of the atmosphere. Studies of soil-vegetation-atmosphere interactions are of high importance for understanding CO₂ fluxes and their fundamental ecological and physiological processes.  Within the framework of the project, the CO₂ gas exchange between soil and atmosphere is continuously recorded using state-of-the-art gas analysis technology, so that total carbon balances can be calculated. By using new transparent cuvettes, net photosynthesis and respiration can now be balanced, which opens up new fields of application in soil research. In a first long-term experiment, investigations are being carried out in the post-mining landscape. The aim is to characterize soil and ecosystem development by comparing respiration (loss) and photosynthesis (gain) and their ratios.

Project team: apl. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schaaf, Dr. Maik Veste, Tatiana Kholiavko
Funding: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)