Measurements of trace contaminants in closed-type plant cultivation chambers

Trace contaminants generated in closed facilities can cause abnormal plant growth. We present measurement data of trace contaminants released from soils, plants, and construction materials. We mainly used two closed chambers, a Closed-type Plant and Mushroom Cultivation Chamber (PMCC) and Closed-type Plant Cultivation Equipment (CPCE). Although trace gas budgets from soils obtained in this experiment are only one example, the results indicate that the budgets of trace gases, as well as CO2 and O2, change greatly with the degree of soil maturation and are dependent on the kind of substances in the soil. Both in the PMCC and in the CPCE, trace gases such as dioctyl phthalate (DOP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), toluene and xylene were detected. These gases seemed to be released from various materials used in the construction of these chambers. The degree of increase in these trace gas levels was dependent on the relationship between chamber capacity and plant quantity. Results of trace gas measurement in the PMCC, in which lettuce and shiitake mushroom were cultivated, showed that ethylene was released both from lettuce and from the mushroom culture bed. The release rates were about 90 ng bed-1 h-1 for the shiitake mushroom culture bed (volume is 1700 cm3) and 4.1 approximately 17.3 ng dm-2 h-1 (leaf area basis) for lettuce. Higher ethylene release rates per plant and per unit leaf area were observed in mature plants than in young plants.