Agrology has developed a scalable and affordable Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) Measurement System to help farmers and researchers better understand ecosystem-scale carbon flux. Improved understanding of carbon flux will help advance global carbon cycle research. To support refinement and deployment of NEE, Agrology has launched a beta programme for US researchers, which will continue throughout 2025.

Traditional methods for calculating NEE rely on eddy covariance towers. While highly accurate, these are expensive and impractical for large-scale commercial use. Agrology’s NEE Measurement System features a compact, cost-effective device designed to overcome these barriers.

The system underwent validation against eddy covariance towers across six diverse sites. It demonstrated strong correlation between Agrology’s system and traditional methods. Researchers can explore these findings in Agrology’s released article, Cross-Validation of a Novel System for NEE Measurements.

“Agrology’s NEE System presents a critical advance for climate-smart agriculture, nature-based carbon mitigation, and ecosystem science, which all require continuous field-based measurements to track and integrate for spatial-temporal variation in carbon fluxes,” said Dr Michael R Schuppenhauer, Principal Investigator and Affiliate at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. “Direct measurement-based data on carbon flux dynamics enables climate action at farm-level and supports agriculture in transitioning to climate-smart practices.”

“NEE is a vital metric for understanding in-field carbon dynamics,” said Dr Francois Visser, CEO of Carbon Friendly. “By providing continuous, in-situ data on the carbon cycle and microclimate, Agrology provides growers with a revolutionary tool to manage and increase carbon accumulation in their soils. We are excited to see this technology advance and help our clients reduce uncertainty and improve their carbon farming.”

“To make ecosystem-scale carbon flux measurement accessible and to enable broader adoption of nature-based climate solutions, we need tools that work in both scientific and commercial settings,” said Adam Koeppel, Co-Founder and CEO of Agrology. “Agrology’s NEE System provides a practical solution for monitoring and quantifying nature-based carbon removal at scale. We invite researchers to join us in advancing this transformative technology.”

The Agrology NEE System includes:

• Environmental Sensors: Devices measure air temperature, humidity, soil moisture, soil temperature, barometric pressure, and other factors influencing greenhouse gas fluxes.
• Soil CO₂ Flux Measurement: Chambers monitor CO₂ emissions from soil respiration.
• Concentration Gradient: Infrared sensors track CO₂ movement across the ground, canopy, and background.
• Machine Learning Model: In-field measurements feed into a machine learning model to calculate NEE.

Agrology cross-validated its ground-truth flux data against traditional flux towers across diverse ecosystems, cropping systems, and regions. This data enhanced the system’s machine learning models, confirming the reliability and accuracy of Agrology’s NEE calculations. The year-long study, conducted in spring and summer 2024, included six diverse US sites: corn-rice rotation fields, forage corn fields, sustainable vineyards, and conventional almond orchards. Results showed strong alignment with eddy covariance towers.