What is SoyFACE?
SoyFACE (Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment) is an innovative facility for growing crops under production field conditions in an atmosphere that is anticipated for the middle of this century, namely one with higher levels of carbon dioxide and ozone. SoyFACE is designed to discover the effects of atmospheric change on the agronomy and productivity of Midwestern crops as well as to find solutions that will lead to crops better adapted to this future. This unique facility and the highly interdisciplinary research teams that it serves seek answers to important questions, including:
- What yield and quality change will result with current major cultivars?
- What genotypes and genes may be exploited to increase yield and maintain quality under the changed atmosphere?
- What system changes will increase yields and maintain quality under the changed atmosphere?
- To what extent will soil water use be decreased, and what implications will this have for drainage, soil moisture, and nitrogen transport?
- Will crop canopy temperature increase, and what effects will this have on development and seedset? Can genetic variation overcome this problem?
- How will nitrogen fixation and rates of extraction of soil nutrients be affected?
- Will soil quality be degraded, and how can this be alleviated?
- Will rates of soil carbon deposition be increased, and what value might this have in terms of carbon credits?
