Kentucky State University (KSU) established a microclimate, trace gas, and soil moisture monitoring station in Martin County, Kentucky, in collaboration with Renew Appalachia, a non-profit organization involved in the forest restoration project in Eastern Kentucky. This instrumentation in Martin County is essential to address the current challenges in managing active, abandoned, and reclaimed mine lands. 

The surrounding overburdened sites of the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky are characterized by the heavy compaction of soil, the presence of heavy metals in soil and water systems, and altered geomorphological characteristics as evidenced by changing direction and water flow of stream systems causing flooding and infrequent precipitation. 

Mr. Ife Familusi, KSU Research Associate, explained, “The soil in the region lacks enough moisture and nutrients and hinders agricultural practices and other ecosystem processes necessary for vegetation survival.” 

Dr. Buddhi Gyawali, professor and director of the multiple projects in the Appalachia Region, said, “With reclamation activities actively ongoing over the region, restoring these sites to their pre-mined status takes several years. However, there is a need to monitor how these activities improve the ecosystem in real-time with the data derived from this station.”

The station was instituted on March 20, 2025 and has already begun to provide real-time weather and flux data at 30-minute intervals. 

“The data derived from this station would be shared among existing academic networks for collaborative research proposal development, student training and experiential research,” said Dr. Maheteme Gebremedhin, Chair of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Associate professor of Meteorology and Soil Science.

The station consists of multiple sensors to observe carbon dioxide and water vapor exchange, precipitation, soil moisture, radiation, wind, and humidity alongside solar panels to power the sensors to use for KSU’s Appalachian Land Reclamation Research & Education Initiative (KSU-ALRREI) project. 

The installation will enable long-term studies of CO2 exchange characterization, regrowth phenology, biomass-productivity, water, vegetation, and carbon balance, remotely sensed data validation, and other research and education activities with local high schools, stakeholders, and agencies. This station will also serve as an opportunity for periodic field camps KSU organizes for ecosystems and microclimate studies and training to high school teachers and students. 

“This instrumentation will educate residents and local high schools in Martin County about microclimate changes and educate residents about early warnings of precipitation, flooding, the heatwave, and droughts in the local communities through community workshops, visits to the station, and sharing of the real-time data in the public events through the Office of Cooperative Extension in Martin County,” said Ms. Lauren Traitz, KSU Field Research Coordinator in Martin County.

The Eddy flux system procurement, installation, and monitoring was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Evans Allen Grants: (1) Studying Long-term Agroecosystems Changes in Reclaimed Mine Land Properties in Eastern Kentucky and (2) Ecosystems Resilience and Extreme Weather Events, and Department of Energy (DOE) Geospatial-Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Curriculum for Minority Serving Institutions (GAEC-MSI) Grants which are both directed by Dr. Buddhi R. Gyawali, professor of Geospatial Technology Application and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at Kentucky State University. 

This project was made possible through the collaborative efforts of KSU graduate students, Ayobami Akinleye and Richard Ojo; staff members, William Rogers, Ife Familusi, Lauren Traitz, and Richard Shmikler; and faculty members, Dr. Maheteme Gebremedhin and Dr. Buddhi Gyawali.