Ecotrop

Confined soil sample library:

• ball mill and porcelain mortar for grinding soil samples
• sieve sets for the preparation of fine (D 2 mm) or ground (100 or 200 μm) soils

Confined analysis laboratory:

• bench-top near-infrared spectrometer
• bench-top medium infra-red spectrometer
• portable visible and near infrared spectrometer
• CHN analyser - laser granulometry
• devices for the determination of pF 2.0, 3.0 and 4.2
• facilities to measure soil biomass
• an elutriator to recover nematodes for quantification and identification.

Together with other tools needed for weighing, heating, cold storage, agitation and aspiration.

Greenhouse
The greenhouse is divided into two compartments, the largest contains 7 benches with a useable cultivation area of 28 m², the smaller contains two benches with a useable area of 9.3 m².  Air-conditioning is provided by a reversible dual-group heat pump with a heating capacity of 186 kW and a cooling capacity of 216 Kw. Heat exchange is provided by three air-conditioning units, allowing precise regulation of the order of ±1°C at night and ±3 °C in daylight in summer. Additional lighting enables experiments to be carried out even in winter. Air is renewed by a Free Cooling system, and extractors equipped with a filtration system. The greenhouse is maintained in continual depression, to avoid the dissemination of any organisms into the environment. A booster allows continuous feeding of hyro and aeroponic cultures in pulsed air.