Soil releases more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than any other natural source on land, making it crucial for understanding climate change. However, measuring these emissions is expensive and difficult across large areas because traditional equipment is costly and requires constant power.

We developed 'Fluxbot 2.0,' a low-cost device that automatically measures soil carbon emissions without needing electricity or daily maintenance. Each unit runs on batteries for nearly two weeks and sends data to researchers via cell phone networks.

We tested 16 Fluxbots against traditional equipment at Harvard Forest in Massachusetts for two months. The low-cost devices provided comparable measurements, capturing similar diel patterns and environmental responses.

Our devices cost a fraction of traditional equipment while delivering comparable quality measurements. This enables scientists to deploy distributed arrays across entire landscapes instead of monitoring just single locations. The technology increases accessibility for studying remote forests, tracking carbon storage in different ecosystems, and supporting community-based environmental monitoring programs.

This advancement is particularly important for verifying carbon offset projects and nature-based climate solutions, where distributed monitoring across diverse landscapes is essential but currently too expensive.