Measurement of soil respiration using closed chamber method: An IRGA technique

A closed chamber method (CC-method) using an infra-red gas analyzer (IRGA) for measuring soil respiration was examined. Two major factors which potentially cause errors: (i) volume of air sampled from the chamber; and (ii) measuring period of time, were examined in laboratory experiments. Field measurements were also conducted with both the CC-method and the open-flow IRGA method (OF-method) throughout a year. The results of laboratory experiments showed that (i) sampling volume of air should be less than 0.2% of the volume of the chamber; and (ii) the air within the chamber should be sampled several times within 20 min. Field measurements showed that soil respiration rates measured by the CC-method were not significantly different from those by the OF-method. The results of this study indicate that the CC-method is as effective for the measurement of the soil respiration rates as the OF-method.