Open‐top designs for manipulating field temperature in high‐latitude ecosystems

Passive open‐top devices have been proposed as a method to experimentally increase temperature in high‐latitude ecosystems. There is, however, little documentation on the efficacy of these devices. This paper examines the performance of four open‐top chambers for altering temperature at six sites in the Arctic and Antarctica. Most of the heating effect was due to daytime warming above ambient; occasional night‐time cooling below ambient, especially of air temperatures, depressed mean daily temperature. The mean daily temperatures at four arctic sites were generally increased by 1.2–1.8 °C; but occasionally, temperature depressions also occurred. Under optimal conditions at the antarctic site (dry soils, no vegetation, high radiation) mean daily soil temperatures were increased by +2.2 °C (–10 cm) to +5.2 °C (0 cm). Protection from wind may play a more important role than temperature per se in providing a favourable environment for plant growth within open‐top devices. Wind speed had a generally negative impact on mean daily temperature. Daily global radiation was both positively and negatively related to chamber temperature response. The effect of chambers on snow accumulation was variable with the Alexandra Fjord site showing an increased accumulation in chambers but no difference in the date of snowmelt, while at Latnjajaure in a deep snowfall site, snowmelt occurred 1–2 weeks earlier in chambers, potentially increasing the growing season. Selection of a passive temperature‐enhancing system requires balancing the temperature enhancement desired against potential unwanted ecological effects such as chamber overheating and altered light, moisture, and wind. In general, the more closed the temperature‐enhancing system, the higher is the temperature enhancement, but the larger are the unwanted ecological effects. Open‐top chambers alter temperature significantly and minimize most unwanted ecological effects; as a consequence, these chambers are a useful tool for studying the response of high‐latitude ecosystems to warming.