Our latest EC tower has just become operational! We have returned to Moanatuatua bog, 16 years after our first CO2 flux measurements took place there. Measurements from the new tower will support research on the sustainability of this precious peatland fragment that has an unnaturally low water table due to severe shrinkage of surrounding farm land. Joss Ratcliffe, fresh from his MSc research in forested Scottish peatlands, will be commencing his PhD with us mid-year, to work on this project.

WaiBER research now encompasses six operating eddy covariance sites: four on dairy farms as part of our NZAGRC-funded work on mitigating soil carbon losses on intensively grazed farm systems; and two associated with our wetland restoration research stream, one at the relatively intact Kopuatai bog and the new Moanatuatua site.

We are now preparing to build a seventh EC system, which will give us the capability to measure the full suite of agricultural greenhouse gases, CO2, N2O, and CH4. We plan to have this operational early next year.