NEERI CO2 Monitoring on Reclaimed Land

Application Type: Eddy Covariance
Project Area: Nagpur, India
Authors: Dr. S.K. Singh and Robert Herfst
Datalogger: CR5000
Data Retrieval: CF Card
Measured Parameters: 3-D wind, fast response thermocouple, CO2, Air Temperature, Relative Humidity

Mining activities certainly can take their toll on the environment. In the centre of India, near Nagpur, MOIL (Manganese Ore India Limited) has been undergoing opencast and underground mining activities. Years of production have created a lifeless landscape of barren piles of waste rock. To reclaim this land, MOIL approached National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur who analyzed the site and developed a suitable plan. Implementing NEERI's rehabilitation plan, MOIL was able to establish a layer of soil on the rock which was then planted with various species of trees, shrubs and ground cover.


The above photo shows three defined horizons in the soil profile.

The forest canopy (shown below) now measures over 12 meters high and is full of a diversity of trees, shrubs, and low lying vegetation including natural rejuvenation. As part of their study, NEERI installed a monitoring station to measure CO2 exchange to better understand carbon flux in the canopy. A Campbell Scientific CSAT3 three axis sonic anemometer with fine wire thermocouple was installed with a LiCor LI-7500 CO2 analyzer. The CR5000 data logger is used for data processing.