Modular low-cost homemade radiation shields for forest ecology field experiments

Summary Abiotic variables are important in understanding several forest ecosystems processes. Hence, temporal, accurate, and precise measurements are vital to any experiment including abiotic variables as part of its objectives.In general, field experiments require several types of sensors to represent intra-site variability. For temperature and humidity measurements in particular, accessories to decrease biases such as radiation shields are indispensable. However, this kind of experimental setup can make project costs escalate quickly.Low-cost alternatives to commercially available radiation shields have proven to be adequate in their ability to decrease measurement bias. Despite this advantage (low cost), the materials used in some of these cannot last long under field conditions (e.g. cardboard, aluminium foil).A custom-made low-cost solution was designed to withstand rugged conditions to perform temporal measurements using sensors. The radiation shields proved to meet the technical and budgetary needs of the project while lasting the entire duration of the project (approx. 3 years). At the end of the project they were still in good enough condition to use in future studies, and they were donated to the School of Environmental Sciences (University of Auckland).