University of Idaho To Celebrate Soil Research Facility

Thursday will mark the start of a unique soil research facility on the University of Idaho’s campus in Moscow.  Funded with an $18.9 million U.S. National Science Foundation grant, the Deep Soil Ecotron will encompass 24 heavily instrumented lysimeters containing soil columns.  These columns will allow scientists the ability to manipulate environmental conditions, including temperatures, soil moisture, and gases.  This will allow research to study the interrelationship between deep soil communities and ecosystem processes.

The Ecotron will accommodate soil analysis down to three meters deep, the greatest depth of any research facility on earth.

Having The Ecotron Operational Will Drive Interest

Renovations of space within the J.W. Martin Lab have been completed to house the Ecotron. Lysimeter units should be fully installed this fall, and the project should be completed, tested and ready to accommodate research projects by the fall of 2026.

Professor Michael Strickland and Associate Professor Zachary Kayler, both with the Department of Soil and Water Systems, are the project’s principal investigators.  Kayler said he believes having the building renovations complete and the Ecotron ready for systems testing will drive interest in the facility and spur proposals for research projects involving collaborators from throughout the world.

“It’s a lot easier to get people to buy into it if the lights are on,” Kayler said.

Researchers will be able to monitor experiments in real time and manipulate variables within lysimeter units remotely using their cell phones. The facility will accommodate soil temperatures ranging from 23 degrees to 104 degrees.

“We can manipulate and look at future climate scenarios and look at how things we’re going to rely on in the future are going to respond to that change,” Strickland said. “The Ecotron should also give us a better understanding of contributions from plants above ground, carbon sequestration and root growth in deep soils, which I don’t think we have a good answer to.”

Experts with the College of Art and Architecture are helping to design a soil-themed motif for entryways, halls and conference rooms to impress upon visitors that they’re entering a world-class facility.  Plans are also in the works to use the Ecotron for evaluating imaging technology using soundwaves to detect objects such as tree roots below ground without having to dig.

The Public Invited To This Week's Soft Opening

The University will hold its soft opening on Thursday May 29th from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  The Deep Soil Ecotron is located in the J.W. Martin Laboratory located at 1355 West 6th Street, Moscow, ID.

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