Ecotron Montpellier
Introduction
The Montpellier Ecotron is a support and research unit of the Institute of Ecology and Environment (INEE) of the CNRS. It is open to national and international research teams in the fields of ecology, population and community biology and agronomy.
The Ecotron simultaneously enables the climatic conditioning of ecosystems of different sizes and the on-line measurement of matter and energy flows linked to different ecophysiological processes.
This research infrastructure interfaces between experiments conducted in situ and those conducted in the laboratory.
The research themes of the Ecotron include fundamental questions on biogeochemical cycles and the role of biodiversity in ecosystems. However, the infrastructure is open to other scientific fields (epigenetics, paleoclimatic, etc.) that require the observation of a sample under controlled environmental conditions.
Proposed services
- Custom experimental services in enclosed environment;
- Analytical services;
Types of ecosystems
Terrestrial ecosystemsTypes of pressures
Biodiversity, Ecosystem management, Soil type, Structure of ecosystems, Weather manipulation
Platforms
Microcosms
The microcosms consist of 13 climatic chambers of 2m³ and a working surface of 1m². Each chamber allows to work on broad research themes including arthropod populations, potted plant-soil systems or on samples of intact ecosystems (monoliths). One of their particularities is to have an adaptable lighting system (choice of spectrum). Environmental parameters can be selected (T°C, RH%, CO2, 13C), and gas exchange measurements are possible either via the use of a LiCor 6400 in a photosynthetic chamber or via the Li-8100A automated soil gas flow system that can handle up to 16 experimental units.
Mesocosms
The Mesocosms platform is made up of 18 experimental units consisting of a transparent FEP enclosure with a volume of 4m³ and a technical room housing a soil monolith of up to 1m³ and a vegetation surface of up to 1m². Each unit allows the measurement of ecosystem flows of photosynthesis, respiration and evapotranspiration as well as those of the main greenhouse gases (CH4 and N2O). The modularity of the “soil” compartment makes it possible to meet the various requirements of monolith size and the choice of the light source, natural or artificial, gives this device an additional advantage in terms of the scope of the climate simulations.
Macrocosms
The macrocosms consist of 12 identical and independent experimental units consisting of a transparent FEP dome (volume ~40m³) in which atmospheric conditions are controlled. The facility is unique in that it allows the simulation of a wide range of climate scenarios and the measurement of evapotranspiration fluxes, while simultaneously providing ecosystem-scale flux measurements of the main greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4 and N2O). The gas measurement system remains flexible and offers the possibility to perform additional measurements.
Isoflux
The Biogeochemical Fluxes and Stable Isotopes platform of the Montpellier European Ecotron (Isoflux) is a gas analysis platform that operates across the three experimental platforms Macrocosms, Mesocosms and Microcosms. It allows the acquisition of on-line and continuous measurements when coupled to an experimental platform, as well as independent measurements when sampling is performed on flasks or exetainers.
