Baltimore Turfgrass Field Experiment Campaign Report

Abstract

The Baltimore Turfgrass Field Experiment (BTFE) consisted of an observation eddy covariance flux station, measuring CO 2 , H 2 O, and turbulent energy fluxes between the turfgrass field and the atmosphere. The tower was sited before the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) User Facility’s arrival, but for the purposes of this report, we can say that the campaign lasted as long as the Coast-Urban-Rural Atmospheric Gradient Experiment (CoURAGE) campaign, 12 months, 12/2024 through 11/2025. As stated, the flux tower was part of the COURAGE campaign on the M1 site. We set out to measure turfgrass because it is a ubiquitous part of the urban environment—in fact, it is the dominant vegetation land cover type in Baltimore and most cities. It contributes small but significantly to greenhouse gas balances as well as the energy balance in the urban environment. We also installed a soil temperature and matric potential profiling system as part of this experiment. Additionally, AmeriFlux asked us to participate in their soil matric potential soil moisture mapping experiment. We collected 12 soil samples to be analyzed by a team in Bloomington, Indiana: results are pending.