The AgraSim (Agricultural Simulator) facility for the comprehensive experimental simulation and analysis of environmental impacts on processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system

Abstract

The AgraSim large-scale research infrastructure is an experimental simulator consisting of six mesocosms (each mesocosm consisting of an integrated climate chamber, plant chamber and lysimeter system) for studying the effects of future climate conditions on plant physiological, biogeochemical, hydrological and atmospheric processes in agroecosystems, which was designed and built by the Forschungszentrum Jülich. AgraSim makes it possible to simulate the environmental conditions in the mesocosms in a fully controlled manner under different weather and climate conditions ranging from tropical to boreal climate. Moreover, it provides a unique way of imposing future climate conditions which presently cannot be implemented under real-world conditions. It allows monitoring and controlling states and fluxes of a broad range of processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. This information can then be used to give input to process-models, to improve process descriptions and to serve as a platform for the development of a digital twin of the soil-plant-atmosphere system.