PARENT SESSION
Poster Session # 2: Statistical Ecology and Ecological Modeling.

Monday, August 4 Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. SITCC Exhibit Hall B.

Examination on growing native wetland plants in a geo-sphere module of the Closed Geo-Hydrosphere Experiment Facility.

Endo, Masahiro^*,1, Nitta, Keiji¹, ¹ Institute for Environmental Sciences, Rokkasho, Aomori, Japan

ABSTRACT- The Closed Geo-Hydrosphere Experiment Facility (CGHEF) has been studying the circulation and accumulation of gaseous radionuclides in the ecosystem. The CGHEF consists of a geo-sphere module, a hydrosphere module, and a material circulation system. The objective of this study is to examine the differences between the geo-sphere module and a wetland in Rokkasho, and to determine requirements to maintain an artificial geo-ecosystem in the module. Native plants at the border of the Obuchi-marsh in Rokkasho were transplanted to containers in the module in June 2002. Temperature in the module and water supply to the plants were set to the average temperature and the average amount of rainfall, respectively, for the previous 2 years in Rokkasho. Almost all of the native plants grew well in the module, but the times of flowering, fruition, withering, and dying were delayed from two to four weeks. It appears that temperature stress was relatively minor in the module. Concentrations of Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl^- and SO₄^2- in the ground water of the containers became higher than those of the wetland.

Key words: Artificial ecosystem, Material circulation, Wetland, Closed ecosystem