Find flux of CO2: convert (μmolCO2 (mol air)^-1) to (mgC)(m^-2 of ground hr^–1)

[mroldboy]

Homework Statement

I am doing an experiment to find the difference in photosynthesis between different areas of grass.

I have and am taking more measurements. But essentially I need to convert the data I have into a flux per area over time.

the data logger records the data of CO2 concentration in (μmolCO2 (mol air)-1). I had it set to do so every second and recorded data fro 4-5 minutes.

I have the slope of the trendline, but I am unsure what that slope is.

Is the slope (μmolCO2 (mol air)-1) per second since its rise/run?

Homework Equations

equations of the data I have

closed chamber: y = 2.3778x + 588.26

clear chamber: y = -0.3184x + 399.19

The Attempt at a Solution

basically I want to find how much CO2 was used. so if I have X amount of CO2 being emitted from the ground that is my background noise. I did that with a closed chamber so no light got in and therefor no photosynthesis occurred. Then measured the same grass with a clear chamber and got a decrease. This decrease should be more since there was still background noise. So the grass was using at least as much CO2 as was emitted from the ground plus some more.

I can't actually do the calculations since I am missing an important piece of data in the volume of the chambers. which were different sizes as well.

I want my flux in (mgC)(m^-2 of ground hr^–1)

Can anyone give me a basic walkthrough of how to do this?

 

[cepheid]

I have the slope of the trendline, but I am unsure what that slope is.

Is the slope (μmolCO2 (mol air)-1) per second since its rise/run?

Yeah. The slope of the graph is the rate of change of CO₂ concentration with time. Therefore, it has dimensions of [concentration]/[time] in the units you happen to be using for those two quantities (which you indicated).