Eight Mile Lake Research Watershed, Carbon in Permafrost Experimental Heating Research (CiPEHR): Winter ecosystem respiration measurements using soda lime, 2010-2019

The Carbon in Permafrost Experimental Heating Research (CiPEHR) project addresses the following questions: 1) Does ecosystem warming cause a net release of C from the ecosystem to the atmosphere?, 2) Does the decomposition of old C, that comprises the bulk of the soil C pool, influence ecosystem C loss?, and 3) How do winter and summer warming alone, and in combination, affect ecosystem C exchange? We are answering these questions using a combination of field and laboratory experiments to measure ecosystem carbon balance and radiocarbon isotope ratios at a warming experiment located in an upland tundra field site near Healy, Alaska in the foothills of the Alaska Range. Soda Lime absorption of CO2 over the winter season is a method of estimating cumulative soil respiration across the site.