Building flux capacity: Citizen scientists increase resolution of soil greenhouse gas fluxes

Abstract

Though citizen science programs have been broadly successful in diverse scientific fields, their adoption has lagged in some disciplines, including soil science and ecosystem ecology. Collaborations with citizen scientists may be viewed as a conundrum in these disciplines, which often require substantial labor and technical experience; citizen scientists could improve sampling capacity but may reduce sample quality or require training and oversight prior to and while performing specialized tasks. To demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating citizen scientists into soil biogeochemistry research, we conducted a proof-of-concept study in high-elevation meadows of the Sierra Nevada in California. A collaboration between university researchers and citizen scientists allowed us to assess spatial and diel patterns of soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes with an intensity and frequency that would otherwise be beyond the capacity of a typical research laboratory. This collaboration with citizen scientists increased our sampling intensity by over 700% while only doubling the sampling error relative to that of full-time researchers. With training and support from project scientists, citizen scientists collected data that demonstrate spatial independence of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide at scales between 1 m and 175 m. Additionally, we found a lack of temporal variation over a 24-h period for all three GHGs. Citizen scientists participating in this one-day event reported levels of satisfaction commensurate with longer-term, immersive campaigns. The place-based event also proved an effective tool for teaching intangible concepts of soil biogeochemistry and promoting local conservation. Despite perceived barriers to entry, this study demonstrates the mutual benefits of citizen science collaborations in soil science and ecosystem ecology, encouraging adoption by disciplines that have been slow to take advantage of such collaborations. Short-term, local citizen science events can provide meaningful experiences for area residents and teach global biogeochemical cycles in a place-based context.

Channels of collaboration for citizen science and the sustainable development goals

“…CS is more successful in some fields than in others. For instance, in soil science or ecosystem ecology, although it facilitates conservation, technical expertise and samples quality are perceived as obstacles (Reed et al 2018). Capacity building processes for CS can be important for future policies, but necessitate the involvement of wide range of people and institutions (Richter et al, 2018).…”

Soil science education: A multinational look at current perspectives

“…A particular challenge in citizen science is that there are often two goals, collecting solid scientific data and educating or raising awareness of the public that participates, and in attempting to balance these goals resources may be diverted from one to the other (Lakeman‐Fraser et al., 2016). Several citizen science projects have been initiated regarding or including soil science, such as efforts to improve digital soil mapping (Rossiter et al., 2015), better understanding of environmental quality (Lakeman‐Fraser et al., 2016), the impact of soil management on pollinators (Appenfeller et al., 2020), measuring soil greenhouse gas fluxes (Reed et al., 2018), and studying litter decomposition with the international tea bag project (Sandén et al., 2020), among others. Another example of an engaging citizen science campaign is the “Soil Your Undies” challenge that has been used in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Switzerland as a fun way to build public interest in soil health (Knox, 2020).…”

Citizen Science as a Co-Creative Measure to Water Quality: Chemical Data and Local Participation in a Rural Territory

“…Examples include websites iNaturalist, eBird, ZooUniverse, and CitSci among others. This enables the exploration of scientific questions about greater scales and includes locations without available data (Loss et al, 2015;Reed et al, 2018;Kirchhoff et al, 2021). However, in certain disciplines such as geology, hydrology, and environmental chemistry, there has been a more gradual integration of citizen science, mainly because the technical experience is needed for effective sampling.…”