Facility for studying the effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration and increased temperature on crops

Abstract

ABSTRACT The requirements for the experimental study of the effects of global climate change conditions on plants are outlined. A semi‐controlled plant growth facility is described which allows the study of elevated CO 2 and temperature, and their interaction on the growth of plants under radiation and temperature conditions similar to the field. During an experiment on winter wheat (cv. Mercia), which ran from December 1990 through to August 1991, the facility maintained mean daytime CO 2 concentrations of 363 and 692 cm 3 m −3 for targets of 350 and 700 cm 3 m −3 respectively. Temperatures were set to follow outside ambient or outside ambient +4°C, and hourly means were within 0.5°C of the target for 92% of the time for target temperatures greater than 6°C. Total photosynthetically active radiation incident on the crop (solar radiation supplemented by artifieal light with natural photoperiod) was 2% greater than the total measured outside over the same period.