Plant Growth Facilities for Experimental Botany

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In recent years, ecologists and other biologists have come to appreciate the importance of physiological studies in understanding the distribution of particular animal and plant species in nature. Such studies of plants, as well as related genetic and systematic analyses, require well-controlled growth facilities so that plants can be raised under reproducible conditions. The ability to determine, and to alter at will, factors such as light intensity, day length and temperature is crucial for investigation of the physiological and morphological responses of plants to their environments. Beyond their use in understanding ecology, studies of the effects of environmental factors can eventually play an important role in the development of new and improved strains of crop plants. The funds provided by this award will initiate the planning phase of the construction of a research greenhouse at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Costs of construction are to be assumed by the University. A supplementary NSF award to provide environmental control systems for the greenhouse and to provide plant growth chambers to be housed in the greenhouse complex is anticipated. The University currently lacks adequate growth chamber and greenhouse facilities, a major shortcoming of one of the few, if not only, universities well- positioned for significant studies of Arctic and Subarctic environments. Furthermore, construction of the greenhouse will improve the quality of studies to be performed in collaboration with the Long Term Ecological Research Site recently established near Fairbanks.