Study of Uncertainty Algorithms and Quality Analysis Criteria in Calculating Greenhouse Gas Flow - Alternative Methods

• Grant number: 23/13755-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 29, 2024
• End date: May 28, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Soil Science
• Principal Investigator: Maurício Roberto Cherubin
• Grantee: Laura Coltro Estella
• Supervisor: Mathias Hoffmann
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Leibniz-Zentrum Für Agrarlandschaftsforschung E. V., Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/04329-9 - Greenhouse gas emission in intensive agriculture systems with biodiversification - sustainable management alternatives, BP.IC

Abstract

The increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions induced by the intensification of human activities, and the consequent global warming, has caused climate change in all regions of the world. Mitigation of climate change therefore involves reducing GHG emissions and removing atmospheric C (CO2). To evaluate different strategies for mitigating GHG emissions, the use of element mass balances is the most common way to study the biogeochemical cycles of C and N in different ecosystems. However, the complexity of the C and N biogeochemical cycles, using field measurements of C and N fluxes is associate with high uncertainty. The fields measurements are typically used to extrapolate the observed values under different scenarios, increasing even more the uncertainty of the predictions of the C and N fluxes from the soil to the atmosphere in unknown future scenarios. The objective of this project will be to estimate the uncertainty of the data obtained during the scientific initiation project (FAPESP 2023/04329-9) in Brazil through checking daily flows and computing the uncertainties of CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes. To improve the quality of the information generated by this project, the uncertainty calculation algorithm developed by Dr. Mathias Hoffmann group will be used. One important product of this project will be gaining reliability and perform quality control as well as quantifying the uncertainty associated with the measurements carried out in Brazilian field study. Additionally, the student will also learn new techniques for measuring the flux of GHGs on higher spatial and temporal resolution.