We present a new technological approach for in situ investigation of long-term impacts of elevated CO2 concentration (EC) on juvenile forests characterised by an intensive community level and canopy closure phase. Construction of the glass domes is based on the properties of earlier tested open-top chambers (OTCs). An air climatisation device together with an adjustable window system, that forms the shell cover of the domes, is able to keep the required [CO2] in both time and spatial scales with the relatively small consumption of supplied CO2. This is achieved by half-closing the windows on the windward side. We evidenced good coupling of treated trees to the atmosphere, including mutual interactions among trees. The semi-open design of the domes moderates the problems of strong wind, humidity, and temperature gradients associated with OTCs. The frequency distributions of the environmental variations within the domes indicate that: air temperature is maintained within the ambient range ±1.0 °C for ca. 80 % of the time, and changes in the relative air humidity vary from -15 to 0 % for ca. 82 % of the time. The most important chamber effect is associated with the penetration of solar irradiance, which is reduced by 26 % compared to the open condition outside the domes. The dimensions of the domes are 10×10 m in length and 7 m high in the central part. The experiment was done in three identical stands of twelve-year-old Norway spruce trees. The 56 trees are planted at two different spacings to estimate the impacts of stand spatial structure in relation to EC. and O. Urban ... [et al.].
We established a multifactoral long-term field experiment at the Látókép experimental site of the University of Debrecen (Debrecen, Hungary), on mid-heavy calcareous chernozem soil in 1984, using experimental data from 17 years (1990-2008). We examined the extent to which soil fertility affects maize yield under natural conditions (without fertilisation). We analysed the effect of precipitation in the winter period (from the harvest of the previous crop (maize) until sowing (i.e. October-March)) and the growing season (i.e. April-September) on yield and we evaluated yield per FAO group. We examined the joint effect of crop year and hybrid maturity groups on maize yield; then we evaluated how hybrid maturity groups per crop year and wet and dry years per ripening group affected maize yield. It was shown that the pH value of soil significantly affected yield and also that there was a strong positive correlation between pH value and yield (r = 0.81) at a 1% significance level. The correlation between the two variables is described by a linear regression line. The slope shows that a 0.1 soil pH increase results in a 510 kg ha-1 maize yield increase on average. The correlation between the amount of precipitation during the growing season and maize yield is average, positive (r = 0.718) and linear. Based on the parameters of the estimated regression line - within non-fertilised conditions - 1 mm increase of precipitation resulted in a 9 kg ha-1 increase in yield. The analysis of the joint effect of hybrid maturity groups and crop year on yield showed that crop year determines standard deviation six times more than hybrid maturity groups, whereas the effect their interaction was not significant. and Práca bsahuje výsledky multifaktorového, dlhodobého pokusu na experimentálnej ploche Látókép, Univerzity v Debrecíne (Debrecen, Maďarsko). Experiment prebiehal od roku 1984, v tejto práci boli použité údaje z experimentu získané počas 17tich rokov (1990-2008). Pôda je stredne ťažká černozem. Bol skúmaný vplyv pôdnej úrodnosti na úrodu kukurice v prirodzených podmienkach, bez hnojenia. Študoval sa predovšetkým vplyv zrážok počas zimného obdobia (od zberu úrody kukurice až po nasledujúcu sejbu, t.j. od októbra do marca) a vplyv zrážok počas vegetačného obdobia (apríl -september) na úrodu kukurice. Okrem toho sa študoval vplyv ''sezóny'' a skupín skorosti hybridov na úrodu kukurice. Bolo vyhodnotený tiež vplyv skupiny skorosti hybridov počas suchých a mokrých rokov na úrodu kukurice. Bolo preukázané, že hodnota pH pôdy významne ovplyvňuje úrodu; súčiniteľ lineárnej korelácie medzi pH a úrodou na úrovni významnosti 1% bol r = 0,81. Z tejto korelácie vyplýva, že zvýšenie pH o 0,1 spôsobuje zvýšenie úrody kukurice priemerne o 510 kg ha-1. Korelácia medzi úrnom zrážok počas vegetačného obdobia kukurice a úrodou je pozitívna a lineárna (r = 0,718), z analýzy vyplýva, že zvýšenie úhrnu zrážok o 1 mm spôsobí priemerné zvýšenie úrody kukurice o 9 kg ha-1. Z výsledkov analýzy spoločného vplyvu skupín skorosti hybridov a sezóny vyplýva, že konkrétna sezóna ovplyvňuje tvorbu úrod 6-krát významnejšie, ako skupina skorosti hybridov; interakcia medzi skupinami skorosti hybridov a vlastnosťami sezóny nie je významná.