Glass domes with adjustable windows: A novel technique for exposing juvenile forest stands to elevated CO2 concentration

摘要

We present a new technological approach for in situ investigation of long-term impacts of elevated CO2 concentration (EC) on juvenile forests characterised by an intensive community level and canopy closure phase. Construction of the glass domes is based on the properties of earlier tested open-top chambers (OTCs). An air climatisation device together with an adjustable window system, that forms the shell cover of the domes, is able to keep the required CO2 in both time and spatial scales with the relatively small consumption of supplied CO2. This is achieved by half-closing the windows on the windward side. We evidenced good coupling of treated trees to the atmosphere, including mutual interactions among trees. The semi-open design of the domes moderates the problems of strong wind, humidity, and temperature gradients associated with OTCs. The frequency distributions of the environmental variations within the domes indicate that: air temperature is maintained within the ambient range +/-1.0 degreesC for ca. 80 of the time, and changes in the relative air humidity vary from -15 to 0 for ca. 82 of the time. The most important chamber effect is associated with the penetration of solar irradiance, which is reduced by 26 compared to the open condition outside the domes. The dimensions of the domes are l Ox 10 m in length and 7 m high in the central part. The experiment was done in three identical stands of twelve-year-old Norway spruce trees. The 56 trees are planted at two different spacings to estimate the impacts of stand spatial structure in relation to EC.