POPFACE
A European Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment experiment on Poplar plantations
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POPFACE A European Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment experiment on Poplar plantations |
Site description
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The experimental plantation and FACE facility is located in Central Italy, near the city of Tuscania (VT; lat 42°22’ N, long 11°48, alt 150 m). The 10-ha plantation has been realized in spring 1999 utilising poplar cuttings of three different species, Populus x euramericana, P. nigra and P. alba. |
| Within the plantation, six 350-m2 plots have been treated either with atmospheric or enriched CO2 concentration (550 ppm); the three enriched plots have been equipped with FACE rings which have an octagonal shape enclosing a circular area of 21 m of diameter. |
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The FACE rings were built within a poplar plantation that was realized utilizing hardwood cuttings 30 cm long. Within the rings, spacing is close enough so to have i) a sufficient number of trees available to conduct the various experimental measurements and ii) the development of a full canopy after one year from planting. Each ring was partitioned in two halves corresponding to two different nitrogen-fertilization treatments. Again, each fertilization plot was divided in three slices (subplots), each planted with a different poplar clone.
