Uploaded January 2021 | Updated September 2026, 15 hours ago
How can we predict the future of grassland ecosystems? What's it like to be an ecologist working in the field?
At the moment, we are unable to understand and predict how natural resources will change over time. To try and rectify this, ecologists are setting up field experiments which simulate possible future conditions, in order to see how ecosystems respond. One example is the RainDrop experiment, located at Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire. Here, scientists are using special 'rainout' shelters to simulate conditions of extreme drought and heavy rainfall, in order to understand how the grassland ecosystem responds. We catch up with three scientists from the University of Oxford who are working on the project - Dr Rob Salguero-Gómez, Sara Middleton and Prof Andrew Hector - to find out more.
Try the RainDrop experiment at home, and let us know your results in the comments!
Subtítulos en español: Noelia Zapatero Teruel, con la supervisión de Laura González Fernández (Facultad de Traducción y Documentación, Universidad de Salamanca).
How can we predict the future of grassland ecosystems? What's it like to be an ecologist working in the field?
At the moment, we are unable to understand and predict how natural resources will change over time. To try and rectify this, ecologists are setting up field experiments which simulate possible future conditions, in order to see how ecosystems respond. One example is the RainDrop experiment, located at Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire. Here, scientists are using special 'rainout' shelters to simulate conditions of extreme drought and heavy rainfall, in order to understand how the grassland ecosystem responds. We catch up with three scientists from the University of Oxford who are working on the project - Dr Rob Salguero-Gómez, Sara Middleton and Prof Andrew Hector - to find out more.
Try the RainDrop experiment at home, and let us know your results in the comments!
Subtítulos en español: Noelia Zapatero Teruel, con la supervisión de Laura González Fernández (Facultad de Traducción y Documentación, Universidad de Salamanca).
