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An Ecotron is an experimental instrument in
Un Écotron pour mesurer les impacts des changements environnementaux sur les écosystèmes
/ref> Depending on the case, we speak of a ''macrocosm'' when the space is large enough to study several m3 of reconstituted ecosystem over a period of time, generally measured in years (3-5 years or more for example), of ''microcosm'' for volumes measuring in cubic decimeters (study of fungal, bacterial, soil ecosystems, etc.) and ''
Paris CEREEP – ECOTRON IDF
Montpellier European Ecotron
Ecosystems Scientific instruments
An Ecotron is an experimental instrument in ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
consisting of a controlled environment which makes it possible to simultaneously condition the environment of natural, simplified, or completely artificial ecosystems
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
and measure the processes generated by living beings present in these ecosystems, in particular the flow of matter and energy
In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
.
Design
Its principle is to confine ecosystems in totally or partially waterproof enclosures which are permeable to energy flow and capable of generating a range of physical and chemical conditions applied to terrestrial oraquatic ecosystem
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The tw ...
s, continental or marine. Environmental control and real-time measurements are precise enough to test hypotheses or operating models. For this purpose, the enclosures are fitted with significant equipment allowing continuous measurement of flux
Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications to physics. For transport ph ...
es, states or biological characteristics. Other specific measurements, in situ and ex situ, on samples taken complete these online measurements. A sufficient number of independent confinement chambers is necessary to study several interacting factors in a framework of statistical inference./ref> Depending on the case, we speak of a ''macrocosm'' when the space is large enough to study several m3 of reconstituted ecosystem over a period of time, generally measured in years (3-5 years or more for example), of ''microcosm'' for volumes measuring in cubic decimeters (study of fungal, bacterial, soil ecosystems, etc.) and ''
mesocosm thumb , Diagram of a small form closed system mesocosm.
A mesocosm (''meso-'' or 'medium' and ''-cosm'' 'world') is any outdoor experimental system that examines the natural environment under controlled conditions. In this way mesocosm studies ...
'' for intermediate situations.
References
Bibliography
* Lawton, J. H., Naeem, S., Woodfin, R. M., Brown, V. K., Gange, A., Godfray, H. J. C., Heads, P. A., Lawler, S., Magda, D., Thomas, C. D., Thompson, L. J. & Young, S. (1993) "The Ecotron - a Controlled Environmental Facility for the Investigation of Population and Ecosystem Processes." Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 341, 181-194. * Lawton, J. H. (1996) "The Ecotron facility at Silwood Park: The value of big bottle" experiments. Ecology, 77, 665-669. * Loreau, M. (1998) ''Biodiversité et fonctionnement des écosystèmes'' n°81, pp. 3-7.French National Centre for Scientific Research
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
, Paris.
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External links
Paris CEREEP – ECOTRON IDF
Montpellier European Ecotron
Ecosystems Scientific instruments