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What is FACE?
FACE stands
for Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment which is a field based technique to
raise the level of carbon dioxide in the air around growing plants. The FACE technique is used
internationally at more than 30 sites.
Trees, crops or pastures are grown within rings that have a
regulated supply of CO2 fed into the experimental area,
controlled by sensors that regulate the amount and position of release to
maintain levels at the required concentration. FACE systems have evolved to enable
plants to be grown under natural conditions for long periods.
See: http://cdiac.ornl.gov/programs/FACE/face.html
What is FACE used for?
The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has indicated that the observed
trend in atmospheric CO2 will continue to rise, and during this
century may well exceed 550 ppm.
Because CO2 is a primary input into photosynthesis, an
enriched atmosphere will affect plant growth and the effects will be
confounded by changes in water use, nutrient uptake and temperature. FACE systems are used to investigate how
crop, forest or natural systems will respond to elevated CO2
levels. The data generated from the
FACE system is often used to calibrate computer simulation models so that
future change impacts can be estimated, but they also become a platform for
multi-discipline ecosystem scale research, such as on soil quality, pest
and disease responses and product quality
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