A plant growth chamber system equipped with aerosol generators for studying aerosol-vegetation interactions

Abstract

Understanding aerosol-vegetation interactions is vital in ecosystems. However, the interactions remain elusive partly due to the lack of suitable plant growth chamber systems. Particularly, deposition of submicron particles on leaf surfaces is challenging due to its low deposition velocities compared to larger particles. In this work, we present a plant-growth chamber that was used to study the effect of submicron black carbon (BC) particles on the growth and photosynthesis of plants. The chamber system simultaneously enables the growth of multiple plants in pots and the deposition of submicron particles onto them. Two spraying methods assisted by ultrasonic and electrostatic forces were employed as aerosol generators to realize the particle deposition. The flow regime inside the chamber was numerically calculated to predict the transportation of aerosol particles, suggesting the optimal operating conditions of the chamber. The gas-phase particle size distribution measurements showed that generated BC particles were suspended in submicron diameter ranges. The aerosol generators were examined in the chamber using three conductor and insulator substrates as a model of plant leaves. Microscope observations and spectroscopic analysis ascertained that submicron BC particles generated from our generators were deposited on all substrate surfaces. Using the developed chamber system, systematic studies can be performed to advance the fundamental understanding of aerosol-vegetation interactions.