Ecotron TERRA Uliège

Overview

Enclosed Ecosystem Platform

Parent institution: University of Liège, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech
Active since 2018
Active through all year

Co-located with

  • ICOS
  • Emphasis

Fields of study

  • Climatology, Climate Change
  • Environmental sciences, Pollution
  • Soil science
  • Microbiology
  • Terrestrial biology, Ecology
  • Hydrology

Contact Information

Longdoz , Bernard
email: Bernard.Longdoz@uliege.be

The Ecotron is a host platform where some agro-ecosystems or grassland plots can grow under a completely conditioned climate. This ecotron is presently composed of 6 rooms (12 in a near future) in which climatic variables (solar radiation, air temperature and humidity, precipitations, CO2 and O3 concentration) are controlled. There is a large hole in the rooms’ floors to insert the surface of some lysimeters filled with soil and covering 2 m² where vegetation can be positioned. The artificial solar lightning panel induces a limitation of the plant height to 1.5m. The lysimeters depth can reach up to 1.5m depth to allow roots development similarly to natural conditions. They are filled with soil (taken from external field plots) either by monolith or layer by layer. For some specific lysimeter design, the temperature and soil water potential are also conditioned at the bottom of the lysimeter to replicate the natural situation.

The instrumental device will allow the automatic temporal monitoring of several other quantities such as the net fluxes of gases (CO2, H2O, N2O, O3) and sensible heat from the ecosystem, the vertical profile of soil temperature, water content and matric potential and the amount of water leached. The water samples coming from leaching and suction cups at different depths can be analyzed to quantify its quality. Finally, a follow-up of the aerial biomass is possible through sampling campaigns for vegetation and soil and will be available via data provided by phenological cameras.

The Location

Country: Belgium

Latitude: 50.5636

Longitude: 4.6975

Nearest town: Gembloux

Distance from neaerst town: km

Relevant Research Questions

Impact of climate change on agro-ecosystem services (yield, quality of the production, carbon storage, GHG mitigation, maintenance of the soil fertility and leached water quality, soil water retention, soil microbial biodiversity etc.)

Advantages

The Ecotron is a unique facility because terrestrial ecosystems including plant, soil and roots can be submitted to completely artificial and chosen climatic conditions including incident radiation, air temperature and humidity, precipitations, air composition (CO2 and O3), deep soil temperature and water table level. It is also unique facility by the natural environmental possibility to quantify different ecosystem services (yield, quality of the production, carbon storage, GHG mitigation, maintenance of the soil fertility and leached water quality, soil water retention, soil microbial biodiversity etc.)

Limitations

Limitations include lack of natural wind and turbulence which can't be produced, the chamber walls emit more Far-Infrared than sky, and trees (higher than 1.5m) cannot be used at the facility.

Experimental Capabilities

Experimental Facilities

Some crop plots for manipulation of vegetation residues or soil working.

Experiments duration: Weeks, Months, Years;

Experimental Aerea

Total area: 12 m²

This area should be implemented up to 24m² (12 X 2m²) in a near future

Available area: 12 m²

This area should be implemented up to 24m² (12 X 2m²) in a near future

Experimental Unit Size

unit size: 2 m²

There are two possible lysimeter devices for each growth chamber : one for cylindrical lysimeters 1.63 m in diameter, and 1.5 m depth, the other involves nine soil cubes 0.5 m side width

Replicates

Replicates number: 6

Temporary storage

  • Dark room
  • Drying oven
  • Freeze drier
  • Freezer
  • Liquid N
  • Refrigerator
  • Other

Available Instruments

  • 3D stereo vision camera
  • Multispectral camera (22 filters)
  • Thermographic cameras
  • Hyperspectral camera
  • Mobile spectrometer
  • Soil solution sampling at different depth
  • Chlorophyll fluorescence
  • Solute concentration via non-contact electromagnetic induction based sensor
  • Ultrasonic equipment
  • Portable Photosynthesis and Fluorescence System Li-cor
Electricity

Electricity available on site.

Distance from Laboratory facilities

Climate

Years measured: 25

Temperature

Mean Temperature: 9.85 °C

February Mean Temperature: 3.1 °C

July Mean Temperature: 17.6 °C

Wind

Mean Annual Speed: 3.9 m/s

Max. Annual Speed: m/s

Dominant Direction: South-West

Precipitation

Precipitation type: Rain;

Total annual precipitation: 834 mm

Mean snow cover duration: 0 days


State Variables

Continuously Measured

  • Air humidity
  • Air temperature
  • Atmospheric pressure
  • Incident PAR
  • Incident shortwave radiation
  • Soil temperature
  • Soil water content
  • Precipitation
  • CO2 and O3 concentration
  • Soil water content
  • soil matric potentiel

Spot Measured

  • Fluorescence
  • Canopy temperature
  • Phenology
  • Population densities
  • Species richness
  • biomass & LAI
  • soil composition
  • soil electrical conductivity

Environmental Pressures

Variable Ecosystem Status
Hydro Agrosystem Active
Watereutroph Agrosystem Active
Management - Nutrients (levels or nutrient type) Agrosystem Active
Management - tilling or other physical manipulation Agrosystem Active
Management - pesticides (or other non-nutrient chemicals) Agrosystem Active
Management - conventional vs. organic or other eco-friendly practice Agrosystem Active
Management - grazing Agrosystem Active
Management - rotation practice Agrosystem Active
Management - species and/or ecotype combinations Agrosystem Active
Management - traditional (or native) vs. new (or non-native) species Agrosystem Active
Hydro Grassland Active
Watereutroph Grassland Active
Management - Nutrients (levels or nutrient type) Grassland Active
Management - tilling or other physical manipulation Grassland Active
Management - pesticides (or other non-nutrient chemicals) Grassland Active
Management - conventional vs. organic or other eco-friendly practice Grassland Active
Management - grazing Grassland Active
Management - rotation practice Grassland Active
Management - species and/or ecotype combinations Grassland Active
Management - traditional (or native) vs. new (or non-native) species Grassland Active
CO2 Shrubland Active
Warming Shrubland Active
Precip Shrubland Active
Hydro Shrubland Active
UV Shrubland Active
Soileutroph Shrubland Active
Watereutroph Shrubland Active
Airpoll Shrubland Active
Management - Nutrients (levels or nutrient type) Shrubland Active
Management - tilling or other physical manipulation Shrubland Active
Management - tilling or other physical manipulation Shrubland Active
Management - pesticides (or other non-nutrient chemicals) Shrubland Active
Management - conventional vs. organic or other eco-friendly practice Shrubland Active
Management - grazing Shrubland Active
Management - rotation practice Shrubland Active
Management - species and/or ecotype combinations Shrubland Active
Management - traditional (or native) vs. new (or non-native) species Shrubland Active
Pests Shrubland Active
CO2 Wetland Active
Warming Wetland Active
Precip Wetland Active
Hydro Wetland Active
UV Wetland Active
Soileutroph Wetland Active
Watereutroph Wetland Active
Airpoll Wetland Active

On site Staff and Accomodation

Peak season staff

Up to 5 people

Off season staff

Up to 2 people

Visiting personnel

Up to 10 visitors


Bedrooms available

Up to 6 beds

Showers on site

Showers on site

Laundry on site

Laundry on site