Design and Performance of a Large, Field Exposure Chamber to Measure Effects of Air Quality on Plants

• Published in: Journal of environmental quality Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 361 - 368
• Main Authors: Heagle, Allen S., Philbeck, Robert B., Ferrell, Ronald E., Heck, Walter W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison, WI American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America 01.07.1989; Crop Science Society of America; American Society of Agronomy
• Subjects: 01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT; 010900 > Coal, Lignite, & Peat > Environmental Aspects; 560300 > Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology; Agrochemicals products; air; AIR POLLUTION; AIR QUALITY; air temperature; Biological and medical sciences; charcoal; crops; DESIGN; dewpoint; ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; EXPOSURE CHAMBERS; FILTRATION; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GROWTH; Other agrochemicals used in plant protection (herbicides, fungicides, etc.); OZONE; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; PLANT GROWTH; plastic film; POLLUTANTS; POLLUTION; Pollution effects and side effects of agrochemicals on crop plants and forest trees. Other anthropogenic factors; Pollution effects. Side effects of agrochemicals; poly(vinyl chloride); RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT; rain; rainfall simulation; SEPARATION PROCESSES 540120 > Environment, Atmospheric > Chemicals Monitoring & Transport > (1990-); solar radiation; Weather damages. Fires; wind speed; Temperature; Description; Open top chamber; Dew point; Acid rain; Ozone; Pinus; Microclimate; Cylindrical shape; Climatic chamber; Design; Acid precipitation; Gymnospermae; Softwood forest tree; Air pollution; Coniferales; Spermatophyta; Pollutant effect; Solar radiation
• ISSN: 0047-2425; 1537-2537
• DOI: 10.2134/jeq1989.00472425001800030021x

A 4.66‐m diam., 3.6 m tall, cylindrical open‐top field chamber was designed, constructed, and tested as a tool to measure the effects of air quality on plant function and yield. It is a larger version of the 3‐m diam. chamber that has been used to measure the effects of gaseous pollutants on crop plants. The new chamber has an aluminum‐channel frame covered with clear polyvinyl chloride plastic film. It is equipped with a frustum (truncated cone) that decreases ambient air ingress and can be fitted with a device to exclude rain (rain cap) for studies with simulated rain pH. During the daylight hours, the mean air temperature within the chamber was 0.6 °C greater than ambient on cloudy, cold days, 2.2 °C greater than ambient on partly cloudy, cool days, and 2.8 °C greater than ambient on sunny, warm days. The mean dew point temperature for a wide range of conditions was 0.7 ° greater inside than outside. Mean solar radiation in the chamber, with new plastic panels, was 15% less than ambient with a rain cap and 12% less with no rain cap. Charcoal filtration removed 78% of the O3 in ambient air; long‐term measurements during charcoal filtration showed that the mean O3 concentration in the chamber (all positions and heights) was 77% less than ambient suggesting little or no long‐term ingress through the top. Short‐term gradients in O3 concentrations existed (mostly near the top of the chamber) during infrequent periods of strong winds. During addition of approximately 0.09 µL L−1 of O3 to nonfiltered air, the mean (14‐d) O3 concentrations across all positions and heights varied by less than 0.005 µL L−1 of the overall mean.