Most plant research studies involve isolating one or more environmental variables (e.g. light, temperature, CO2 ) to study their effects in isolation or combination. Thus a range of accurate, versatile and adaptable facilities are required so that an environmental gradient (eg a temperature gradient under the same light conditions) or a specific variable (eg the effects of specific light conditions or CO2 concentration at the same temperature) can be studied. Accurate control is also required to ensure repeatability of experiments. At all times, the facility is maintained using a highly accurate power control system. The existence of the system ensures that environmental control is reliably maintained at all times. The system features include:
a central computer that monitors the systems and alerts any anomalies to mobile phone
zone control through CPUs and a series of touch screens
standard components available locally are used to minimise downtime
failure of one part of the system does not affect other parts and can usually be corrected from another zone. Thus environmental integrity of experiments can be maintained.
The School of Plant Science Controlled Environment Facility contains a rare combination of plant growth environments capable of simulating a range of natural environments under controlled conditions.
