The Biometeorology Group operates a state‑of‑the‑art mesocosm facility designed to investigate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems. This controlled environment allows us to isolate key drivers of methane (CH₄), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions with exceptional precision.
Historically, the facility has been used to examine how future climate scenarios—particularly changes in precipitation—affect greenhouse gas emissions from corn‑based cropping systems. These experiments provided important insight into how climate variability influences soil processes, crop performance, and nitrogen cycling.
Today, the mesocosms are being used to evaluate the potential of soil amendments to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from corn cultivation. Our current experiments focus on procyanidins, a class of plant‑derived compounds that can inhibit denitrification. We aim to determine whether producers can maintain crop growth and yield while reducing nitrous oxide emissions.
The study includes multiple fertilizer‑reduction treatments to quantify how the amendment performs across a range of nitrogen inputs. This approach helps identify an optimized best‑management practice that balances productivity, economic viability, and environmental sustainability.
The facility is fully climate‑controlled and continuously measures CH₄, CO₂, and N₂O emissions at hourly resolution across six independent treatments. The combination of high‑frequency measurements and tightly controlled environmental conditions provides a uniquely powerful platform for understanding the mechanisms driving greenhouse gas emissions and for evaluating emerging mitigation technologies.
This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.
