Phytotron- An Enclosed Research Facility for Study Interactions Between Plants and the Environment

Global climate warming can have a major impact on the functioning of crops and plants in the natural environment. A higher temperature during night time has resulted in decreased crop yields globally. It has been predicted that in the future the temperature during night time is warmer than the daytime. Due to the booming world population and increased industrial activities, it is predicted to change in the future (Smith et al., 2002). According to Meehl et al., 2007, the atmospheric CO2 concentration is predicted to reach 730 to 1020 ppm by 2100. At the same time, it is expected to increase in global mean temperature between 1.8 and 40oC, due to the rising CO2 concentration and other greenhouse gases. Since both CO2 and temperature are key factors affecting the growth and developmental phenomenon of plants. Due to their crucial role and have potential influences of climate change on plant growth, global food supply, and disease risk are attracting considerable research interest in many countries (Myneni et al., 1997; Harvell et al., 2002). Nowadays various methods have been used to study the impact of climatic parameters on plant growth and development such as temperature gradient tunnel, open-top chambers, growth chambers, glasshouses, Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE), Free-Air Temperature Enrichment (FATE), and Free-Air CO2 and Ozone Enrichment (FACO). Among all the experimental setups, phytotron is the enclosed research facility that permits the study of effects of climate variables on the plants in a precise manner.