![]() ![]() We also develop online resources and a tutorial video series to allow people with little electronics experience to implement this DIY soil temperature data logger system. Here we develop an open-source soil temperature data logger based on the Arduino microcontroller platform. Online resources have the potential to close the “skills gap” that prevents the implementation of DIY data loggers while also allowing them to serve as powerful educational tools. However, current technological advances and online communities have reduced these limitations by increasing the accessibility of information through online lectures or step-by-step video tutorials. The downsides of DIY approaches are that they often require proper training and educational background that may limit their applicability in the context of ecological research. DIY approaches can reduce overhead, labor, consumable, and production costs resulting in a more cost-effective data logger system that can be scaled towards greater measurement capability (i.e., an economy of scale). Hence, adequately characterizing the three-dimensional variability in soil temperatures across a site often requires a large number of sensors that can be costly to purchase and deploy.ĭo it yourself (DIY) soil temperature data logger systems are a potential solution to the high cost of deploying a large number of sensors. In soils, temperatures can be difficult to predict from those in the air because of their dependence on radiation load, surface energy budget partitioning, soil depth, and soil thermal properties that vary with soil texture and moisture content. This is unfortunate because many biological and biogeochemical processes rely on proximate temperatures in soil and water that can differ widely from those in the air. Although air temperatures have been extensively measured using global networks or satellites, there has been less attention towards soil and water temperatures. Temperatures vary across time and space and can substantially differ between the air, water, and soils. Temperature plays an important role in the physiology, activity, and distribution of organisms across the globe. It also provides an educational resource to enhance STEM, accessibility, inclusivity, and engagement. The DIY soil temperature data logger will reduce data collection costs and improve our understanding of species distributions and ecological processes. ![]() This work has the potential to increase the spatial resolution of soil temperature monitoring and serve as a powerful educational tool. The DIY loggers were ~1.7–7 times less expensive than commercial systems. They captured accurate soil temperature data and performed reliably in the field with less than 10% failing in the first year of deployment. The do-it-yourself (DIY) data logger was comparably accurate to a commercial system with a mean absolute error of 2% from −20–0 ☌ and 1% from 0–20 ☌. We tested data loggers constructed by students, with little prior electronics experience, in the lab, and in the field in Alaska. We developed an open-source soil temperature data logger and created online resources to ensure our design was accessible. Characterizing and predicting soil temperature requires large and expensive networks of data loggers. However, soil temperature is decoupled from air temperature and varies widely in space. ![]() Soil temperatures play an important role in determining the distribution and function of organisms.
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