SOIL respirometry

The SOIL respirometer has been developed for the determination of soil microbial respiration of aerobic, unsaturated soils. 

We supply 4 different configurations:

• BASE - based on manometric respirometry (ISO 16072 sec. 5.4), suitable for the determination of O2 uptake;
• INTERMEDIATE - based on NIR CO2 tracking and optionally intermitted aeration, suitable for the determination of CO2 release;
• ADVANCE - based on NIR CO2 tracking and continuous aeration (ISO 16072 sec. 5.6), suitable for the determination of CO2 release;
• CUSTOM - a custom respirometer tailored to specific needs based on pressure/CO2/ideaflow w/wo intermitted/continuous aeration/O2 bag  that can also be adapted to other application (e.g. plastic, biogas).

Systems measuring CO2 do not distinguish between CO2 released from microbial activities and CO2 resulting from abiotic processes. For alkaline soils and soils with a high organic matter content, which can release considerable amounts of abiotically CO2, methods using O2 uptake are recommended.

Anyway, both the 2 configurations are suitable for tests with the addition of a substrate (substrate-induced respiration), or without substrate addition (basal respiration) to determine:

• the microbial activity in soil;
• the effect of additives (nutrients, pollutants, soil improvers, etc.) on the metabolic performance of microorganisms;
• the microbial biomass;
• the metabolic quotient qCO2.

For more info download the brochure (please first request your credentials using the “ask for availability” button or “contacts” menu).