A review of open top chamber (OTC) performance across the ITEX Network

Open top chambers (OTCs) were adopted as the recommended warming mechanism by the International Tundra Experiment network in the early 1990s. Since then, OTCs have been deployed across the globe. Hundreds of papers have reported the impacts of OTCs on the abiotic environment and the biota. Here, we...

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Published inArctic science Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 331 - 344
Main Authors Hollister, Robert D., Elphinstone, Cassandra, Henry, Greg H. R., Bjorkman, Anne D., Klanderud, Kari, Björk, Robert G., Björkman, Mats P., Bokhorst, Stef, Carbognani, Michele, Cooper, Elisabeth J., Dorrepaal, Ellen, Elmendorf, Sarah C., Fetcher, Ned, Gallois, Elise C., Guðmundsson, Jón, Healey, Nathan C., Jónsdóttir, Ingibjörg Svala, Klarenberg, Ingeborg J., Oberbauer, Steven F., Macek, Petr, May, Jeremy L., Mereghetti, Alessandro, Molau, Ulf, Petraglia, Alessandro, Rinnan, Riikka, Rixen, Christian, Wookey, Philip A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ottawa Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press 01.06.2023
Canadian Science Publishing
Subjects
Alpine
Arctic
Biota
Chambers
Climate change
Design
Ecosystems
Environmental impact
Greenhouses
Heat
Humidity
Large-scale coordinated experiment
Physics
Radiation
Reviews
Taiga & tundra
Temperature
Tundra
Vegetation
Warming experiment
Wind
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Summary:Open top chambers (OTCs) were adopted as the recommended warming mechanism by the International Tundra Experiment network in the early 1990s. Since then, OTCs have been deployed across the globe. Hundreds of papers have reported the impacts of OTCs on the abiotic environment and the biota. Here, we review the impacts of the OTC on the physical environment, with comments on the appropriateness of using OTCs to characterize the response of biota to warming. The purpose of this review is to guide readers to previously published work and to provide recommendations for continued use of OTCs to understand the implications of warming on low stature ecosystems. In short, the OTC is a useful tool to experimentally manipulate temperature; however, the characteristics and magnitude of warming varies greatly in different environments; therefore, it is important to document chamber performance to maximize the interpretation of biotic response. When coupled with long-term monitoring, warming experiments are a valuable means to understand the impacts of climate change on natural ecosystems.
Bibliography:Arctic Science
ISSN:2368-7460
2368-7460
DOI:10.1139/as-2022-0030