An improved Solardome system for exposing plants to elevated CO₂ and temperature.

Area of Science:

• Plant science
• Environmental science
• Agricultural engineering

Background:

• Ventilated Solardomes have been utilized for two decades to investigate the impact of gaseous pollutants on plants.
• Previous research established Solardomes for pollutant studies, necessitating adaptation for climate change research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a computer-operated facility designed for studying the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature regimes on plants.
• To evaluate the facility's effectiveness in controlling environmental parameters for controlled plant experiments.

Main Methods:

• Eight Solardome chambers were configured for factorial design experiments.
• Treatments included two levels of CO2 (ambient and ambient + 340 ppmv) and two temperature levels (ambient and ambient + 3 °C), with two replicates each.
• Environmental conditions within chambers were monitored over a two-year period.

Main Results:

• The facility achieved highly effective control of CO2 and temperature regimes.
• Despite UV-B transmitting glass, photosynthetically active region (PAR) irradiance was reduced by 18% within the domes.
• Temperature variations increased with higher photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), and vapor pressure deficits (VPDs) were higher in elevated temperature domes.

Conclusions:

• The Solardome facility provides precise control over CO2 and temperature, essential for climate change impact research.
• The facility is suitable for studying the effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems, as demonstrated by its use in the UK TIGER program.