HCM City (VNA) - The University of Scienceunder the Vietnam National University-HCM City has set up the first greenhousegas monitoring station in the buffer zone of the Lang Sen Wetland Reserve inthe Mekong Delta province of Long An.

The station was set up with the co-operation of the university, Global ChangeResearch Institute and the Czech Academy of Science - CzechGlobe.

A ceremony to open the first greenhouse gas monitoring station was held at theUniversity of Science on May 9.

The station uses the eddy-covariance (EC) method which is widely applied influx research stations for different types of ecosystems around the world. Itquantifies the greenhouse gas balance and studies the dynamics of flux exchangeunder the changing climate and environment of irrigated rice fields in theMekong Delta.

The station officially began operating last month.

Nguyen Xuan Vinh, the station’s deputy head, said the equipment automaticallycollects and measures data on solar radiation, rainfall, soil and airtemperature, humidity, water level, and soil heat flux.

The data are transferred to the Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas and ClimateChange at the University of Science.  

Monitoring for a sufficiently long period in paddy rice fields can provideenough information to help understand the carbon balance in the wetlandecosystem.

The ecosystem of paddy rice fields accounts for the largest area in the bufferzone of the Lang Sen Wetland Reserve, and contributes to discharge ofgreenhouse gas.

Under the impact of climate change and rising sea levels, rice farming systemsin the Mekong Delta have become hotpots of high vulnerability, and need tourgently adapt to climate change.

More extreme events due to climate change such as droughts and heat waves haveaffected the carbon cycle.

Data on greenhouse gas in the past was insufficient to develop strategies andmethods for control.

In the upcoming time, other stations for greenhouse gas monitoring will be setup in other areas of the Lang Sen Wetland Reserve.-VNA