Passive nighttime warming facility for forest ecosystem research

A nighttime warming experiment is proposed. Over the last four decades a significant rise in nighttime minimum temperature has been determined from analysis of meteorological records from a global distribution of locations. The experiment involves nighttime deployment of infrared (IR) reflecting curtains around four sides of a forest canopy and across the top of the forest to mimic the top-down warming effect of cloud cover. The curtains are deployed with cable and pulley systems mounted on a tower and scaffolding structure built around the selected forest site. The trunk space is not enclosed except as an optional manipulation. The curtains reflect long-wave radiation emitted from the forest and ground back into the forest warming the trees, litter, and soil. Excellent infrared reflection can be obtained with commercially available fabrics that have aluminum foil bonded to one side. A canopy warming of 3 to 5 degrees C is expected on cloudless nights, and on cloudy nights, a warming of 1 to 3 degrees C is anticipated relative to a control plot. The curtains are withdrawn by computer control during the day and also at night during periods with precipitation or excessive wind. Examples of hypothesized ecosystem responses to nighttime warming include: (1) increase in tree maintenance respiration (decreasing carbon reserves and ultimately tree growth), (2) increase in the length of the growing season (increasing growth), (3) increase in soil respiration, (4) increase in litter decomposition, (5) increase in mineralization of N and other nutrients from soil organic matter, (6) increase in nutrient uptake (increasing growth), and (7) increase in N immobilization in litter. Hypothesis 1 has the opposite consequence for tree growth to Hypotheses 2 and 6, and thus opposite consequences for the feedback regulation that vegetation has on net greenhouse gas releases to the atmosphere. If Hypothesis 1 is dominant, warming could lead to more warming from the additional CO(2) emissions. Site-specific meteorological, ecophysiological, and phenological measurements are obtained in the warming treatment and in a carefully selected control plot to investigate site-specific hypotheses. Measurements made on both plots for a baseline period and during the period of curtain deployment provide data to test the hypotheses statistically by the "before-after-control-impact" method applicable to unreplicated experiments. The enclosure has a modular design that can be adapted and combined with other forest-scale manipulation experiments such as free air CO(2) enrichment and throughfall displacement.