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THE $30 MILLION BASS GIFT

WILL HELP HUMANITY IMPROVE

ITS UNDERSTANDING OF

COMPLEX SYSTEMS.

Work within LEO has application to other projects underway at
Biosphere 2. “Rainforest biomes are facing increased drought,” Troch
says. “The rainforest inside Biosphere 2 allows us to test how plants
might adjust their water uptake strategies through a controlled drought
and model how they will adapt to climate change.”
For instance, Biosphere 2 research revealed how woody shrubs are
moving into historic grasslands — the deeper rooting ability of these
plants allows them to weather drought and high temperatures better
than native grasses. “This means that ecosystems are actually becoming
more resilient to climate stress,” Troch points out.
Another project at Biosphere 2 seeks to create a novel landscape that
blends the natural and built environments. Plants lose water through
transpiration, and researchers found that by planting native grasses
under solar photovoltaic arrays, the plants act as an evaporative cooler
for the arrays — which are limited in production capacity by heat.
This system enhances energy output by 4 percent at midday, and the
researchers are now building on this work by studying it as a possible
model for crop production.
“Ed Bass has been very engaged in these projects,” Troch says. “He
has served on the advisory board all along and has attended every
board meeting for the past 10 years. His $30 million gift demonstrates
how invested he is in this work and its potential to improve our
understanding of complex systems.”

Landscape Evolution Observatory

• 3 experimental bays
• 500 metric tons of volcanic soil
• 1,800 sensors
• 670,000 measurements daily

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