PRISM – Rapid Insights into Soil Carbon and Sequestration
Project background
PRISM is a co-funded project by DAFM-Ireland and the New Zealand government led by Teagasc and working with partners in DCU, UCD and Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd The project is looking at proximal sensing methods to rapidly determine soil organic matter pools and dissolved organic carbon in agricultural landscapes and identify opportunities in the landscape for carbon capture. Soil is the largest biogeochemically active pool of carbon on Earth and to tackle challenges related to climate change and environmental sustainability we need to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. The European Union and national targets seek to increase SOC sinks by enhancing sequestration. The best indicators of an ecosystem status and function is the measure of SOC and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) derived from soils. Knowledge of DOC and SOC data for carbon sequestration potential at different soil depths is essential for emissions trading and carbon budgeting.
Knowledge gap
Measuring and monitoring SOC and DOC data is costly and time consuming. Recent advances using infra-red (IR) technology for soil and water analysis offers a more affordable solution and delivering rapid results. Technologies such as mid-infrared (MIR) and near-infra red (NIR) spectroscopy have been used over the years in different industries including agriculture, they offer a cost-effective solution to traditional chemical and physical methods used for soil analysis. But these advanced technologies need the development of mathematical models to translate the data into meaningful use for procedures for monitoring, reporting and verifying soil carbon data. PRISM’s objective is to develop solutions to quickly assess and identify soil carbon pools and indicators of carbon sequestration in agricultural landscapes in using MIR and NIR proximal sensors.
Soil analysis
The main activities include developing and combining national scale data on SOC pools, soil archives, spectral libraries and DOC data, from reference sites in both Ireland and New Zealand. Soil sampling of reference sites in both countries will deliver a database of SOC fractions and pools that will be combined with soil spectral libraries to build prediction models for portable NIR applications. Sensed data will be used to develop indicators of SOC sequestration potential and a decision support and early warning systems for end-users, for actionable climate smart management. To achieve this, the project partners will combine a range of research methods in spectroscopy, chemometrics, informatics, soil carbon modelling and decision support, using the knowledge and expertise developed in Ireland and New Zealand.
Aims and Objectives
Overarching aim
The outputs from PRISM will advance our ability to monitor and assess SOC pools and DOC loss in farm landscapes in Ireland and New Zealand. This will allow for baseline soil carbon data and continuous DOC monitoring, to identify pools associated with sequestration and DOC loss. The data acquired will be integrated in a user-friendly dashboard to allow farmers to quickly and intuitively identify climate smart management opportunities.
Specific objectives
The project will assess technologies such as mid-infra-red and near-infra red spectroscopy (MIR and NIR) for measuring SOC sequestration in soils, so that these technologies can be easily deployed in the field for any user, to (1) identify soils vulnerable to C loss, (2) to determine the soil C sequestration potential of soils (3) to measure on-farm baseline values of soil carbon stocks (4) will allow users to monitor changes in SOC.
Work Plan
- Task 1 – Knowledge transfer
- Task 2 – Generation of global spectral libraries
- Task 3 – Development of sensors for SOC
- Task 4 – Development of sensors for DOC
- Task 5 – Informatics and development support tool
Team
Dr Karen Daly – Project coordinator, Head of Environment Soils & Land Use Dept., Teagasc
Dr Giulia Bondi – Research Officer, Teagasc
Dr Maame Croffie -Technologist, Teagasc
Dr Felipe Bachion de Santana – Technologist, Teagasc
Partners
Dr Sharon O’Rourke, University College Dublin, Ireland
Dr Nigel Kent, Dublin City University, Ireland
Dr Pierre Roudier, Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd., New Zealand
Dr Sam McNally, Landcare Research New Zealand Ltd., New Zealand