Air conditioning for plants
10 August 2009
Researchers from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology will soon be able to replicate habitats from around the world in a structure that's akin to a huge polytunnel.
But the structure is a lot more sophisticated than that. It's called a GroDome and has eight compartments in which temperature and light levels can be altered.
Researchers will be able to see how changing temperature and light levels affect the different components that make up a habitat. In heathland, for example, ants, gorse and heather are the most important species for the ecosystem, and they all play a part in the health of the soil.
People have used greenhouses to grow flowers, vegetables and fruit since Roman times. And although the temperature can be controlled to some extent, it can't be controlled exactly. The GroDome is much more controllable.
Listen
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Dr Tracey Timms-Wilson takes science writer and broadcaster Sue Nelson on a tour of the GroDome.
Meanwhile Paul Arnold, a student from the University of Southampton, explains why the GroDome's controlled conditions are so important for his research on soil bacteria.
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