Infrared heater arrays for warming ecosystem field plots

• Published in: Global change biology Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 309 - 320
• Main Authors: Kimball, Bruce A, Conley, Matthew M, Wang, Shiping, Lin, Xingwu, Luo, Caiyun, Morgan, Jack, Smith, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2008; Blackwell
• Subjects: Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Canopies; canopy; canopy temperature; China; Climate change; Ecology; Ecosystems; Electric power; environmental control systems; equipment design; equipment performance; field experimentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; GIS; global change; Global warming; Grasses; Heating; infrared heater; infrared heaters; Operating costs; Power consumption; rangeland; rangelands; Research methodology; Synecology; Temperature; Thermal radiation; Thermometers; Wind speed; China; Warming; Modification; Temperature; wind speed; Plot; Wind velocity; Dynamical climatology; GIS; Climate change; canopy temperature; global warming; Geographic information system; infrared heater; Ecosystem; Global change; ecosystems; Planetary scale; Rangeland; Canopy(vegetation); thermal radiation

There is a need for methodology to warm open-field plots in order to study the likely effects of global warming on ecosystems in the future. Herein, we describe the development of arrays of more powerful and efficient infrared heaters with ceramic heating elements. By tilting the heaters at 45° from...