BtM, a low-cost open-source datalogger to estimate the water content of nonvascular cryptogams

Communities of nonvascular cryptogams, such as mosses or lichens, are an important part of the Earth's biodiversity, contributing to the regulation of the carbon and nitrogen cycles in many ecosystems. Being poikilohydric organisms, they do not actively control their internal water content and...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Leo, María, Lareo Fernández, Ángel, García Saura, Carlos, Hortal, Joaquín, García Medina, Nagore
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2019
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/717278
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/717278
https://dx.doi.org/10.3791/58700
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Environmental Sciences
Issue 145
conductance measurement
cryptogam
water content
bryophyte
lichen
conductivity
impedance
Medio Ambiente
Electrónica
Descripción
Sumario:Communities of nonvascular cryptogams, such as mosses or lichens, are an important part of the Earth's biodiversity, contributing to the regulation of the carbon and nitrogen cycles in many ecosystems. Being poikilohydric organisms, they do not actively control their internal water content and need a humid environment to activate their metabolism. Therefore, studying water relationships of nonvascular cryptogams is crucial to understand both their diversity patterns and their functions in the ecosystems. We present the BtM datalogger, a low-cost open-source platform for the study of the water content of nonvascular cryptogams. The datalogger is designed to measure ambient temperature, humidity, and conductance from up to eight samples simultaneously. We provide a design for a printed circuit board (PCB), a detailed protocol to assemble the components, and the required source code. All this makes the assembly of the BtM datalogger accessible to any research group, even to those without previous specialized knowledge. Therefore, the design presented here has the potential to help popularize the use of this type of device among ecologists and field biologists