Do-it-yourself closed ecosystem in a light bulb. Aquarium in a jar: how to make a closed aquatic ecosystem

For more than 40 years, a plant has been living in a large bottle, plugged with a cork. No outside air or water intake.

This bold experiment was once put by David Latimer, an 80-year-old gardener from the town of Cranley, UK. He launched his first "garden in a bottle" in 1960. And in 1972 he corked the bottle with a cork forever. Thus, the plant in the photo below has been living in a vessel for 52 years, and 41 of them are completely independent.

The plant lives and does not die because of what it collects solar energy, which he needs for photosynthesis, with water is even simpler - in the bottle there is just a water cycle. It evaporates and condenses on the walls of the bottle, this is precipitation. Nutrients the plant receives from the compost into which the fallen leaves turn. Thus, this plant can theoretically live forever, if some external factors do not affect it. It is noteworthy that initially the gardener planted four different plants However, only the fittest survived.

Making such a closed ecosystem in a bottle is not so difficult:

1. First you need to find a suitable glass vessel with a wide enough neck for easier access.


2. Need good soil and compost.


3. And of course, the plant itself. Recommended as plantsAdiantum (Paportonicus) , some types Tradescantia (Tradescantia) and little sproutsChlorophytum (Chlorophytum).


4. It only needs to be watered 1-2 times before sealing.

beautiful closed ecosystem, which can exist as long as there is sunlight. Even if all life on the planet dies out.

And here is a video with the hero, where he talks about how it all happened and shows his ecosystem.

In one of my diaries, I mentioned a closed ecosystem. Some microcosm. which exists on its own.

So, a closed ecosystem is a system that does not involve the exchange of substances with the outside world.
It's kind of like Earth. Only in reduced form.
On the picture - open system. She takes everything she needs for her existence from environment.
A closed ecosystem is completely cut off from outside world. Moreover, such a system does not require any maintenance.

David Latimer put Tradescantia in a bottle and didn't open it for 40 years. During this time, the plant not only did not die, but formed its own ecosystem. Foodscantia was fed from its own humus. And the growth of a plant is due to the oxygen it produces. Irrigation was absent. Since humidification was carried out by condensate.

I decided to make a few closed ecosystems. Just do it! Not to buy. Oh yes, such ecosystems can also be bought.
There is enough information on the Internet about how such a "miracle" of nature can be made. I'll tell you how I did it.

First, landing requires a resealable container.
Of course GLASS. I took a regular jar. Or in stores you can buy cool rounded glass containers.

Secondly, the earth. I took regular soil. No freezes there. For drainage, I use ordinary sand with stones.

Third, plants. The most common! From experience I can say that closed systems it is best to take moisture-loving. In my case, moss. You can take any plants. Main criterion plant compatibility. It can be a fern, chlorophytum, etc.

Fourth - decor. You understand that it is not mandatory and is done at will. On the Internet they write that the main thing in choosing a decor is that it does not rot. I think it would be cool if it still rots. This emphasizes the naturalness of such a system.

Pour drainage, earth into the jar. We form a relief. Next we plant the plants. For decor, I took an angel figurine (it is planned that moss spores will begin to grow on it) and a stone. We put everything as you like, water and cork.

It is important not to clog the container too much at first. Since there can be an extremely large amount of water in plants, they will simply begin to rot. On the first day, it is recommended not to clog the container. For excess moisture to evaporate. In my case, I just plugged everything as is.

In the first week, the bank observed a large number of condensate. And I had to open the container to let the water evaporate a little. The plants have taken root. The moss has grown a little.
At the end of the second week, "extraterrestrial" life was noticed in the bank - two large mosquitoes appeared. who died three days later.
Today, on the angel figurine, moss growth is observed in some places. Alas, I can’t take a photo - there is a lot of condensate on the walls of the can during the day.

My second system can be either open or closed.

interesting article, in terms of horticulture, about an Englishman who 53 years ago planted Tradescantia in a jar. He corked the bottle and, after watering 40 years ago, never opened it again. Ideas came to him out of curiosity. And to this day, the plant lives, grows and absorbs oxygen. Tradescantia has formed an ecosystem: during photosynthesis, oxygen is formed, air is humidified inside the vessel and moisture falls out, fallen leaves rot, releasing CO 2. But light is also needed for photosynthesis, so the bottle must be constantly pushed to the window and unfolded so that the leaves grow evenly. I added some electronics for houseplant, and here's what came out of it.

Stage One

As already mentioned, in the process of photosynthesis, the most important thing is light. But not any!

For plants, the most important are blue-green and yellow-red. The wavelengths are respectively from 440 to 550 nm and from 600 to 650 nm. I went to the store and bought 4 red, 2 blue and 2 green LEDs (read on "Radio Cat"). Next, I placed them under the lid of the jar, fixed them on a cardboard, and connected them in parallel (for 2 reds, 1 blue and 1 green).
Because LEDs different colors Glows have a different supply voltage, put resistors.
I made a hole in the lid for the wires and reinforced the cardboard with LEDs under the lid, after inserting the wires into the hole. For greater isolation from the outside world, the hole can be sealed.

Revision of the lighting module from 07/01/13.
The module was specially coated with a thick layer of Zaponlak to prevent corrosion of the element leads and copper on the board.

Stage Two

I have already done the main, i.e., backlighting, so I’m moving on to useful additions.
1. To make the light burn only when the plant is in the shade, you need to add a photocell.
Wiring diagram:

To make the pot really smart, connect an Arduino to it. Analog InPut on the diagram - any analog input from the Arduino. We will hang LEDs on the PWM (or PWM) output, the brightness of which will change depending on the illumination of the photoresistor. But first, let's find out what values ​​the voltage divider will produce.

The code

int sensor=0; // Connect Divisor To Arduino Analog Input A0 void setup() ( Serial.begin(9600); ) void loop() ( Serial.println(analogRead(sensor)); delay(1000); // Send Divisor Values ​​Every Time give me a sec )

In my circuit, I used a photoresistor from ZNATOK's electronic kit. It has a shadow resistance of 120 kOhm. Resistor R1 is calculated using the formula: R 1 =V in *R 2:V out -R 2 ; V in on the diagram is +5V, V out is “to the Arduino analog input” (I hope everyone remembers the procedure well: first the operations of the first degree are multiplication and division, and then the second one is addition and subtraction). Also, it should be remembered that the resistance of the photoresistor can vary non-linear.
The minimum value of lighting from my divider is about 100 (let's call them conventional units), the maximum is about 755 USD.
Knowing these values, you can write a program for the Arduino controller.

The code

int sensor = 0; // Potentiometer to A0 int ledPin = 9; //LEDs to pin 9 void setup () ( analogReference(DEFAULT); pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); //Serial.begin(9600); Uncomment this line to display the current //lightness in USD in the Port Monitor. ) void loop() ( int val = analogRead(sensor); val = constrain(val, 130, 755); //Set illumination values. //If< 130, то превращаем в 130, если >755, then set to 755. int ledLevel = map(val, 130, 755, 0, 255); //Turn the values ​​of illumination and c.u. //to 8-bit values ​​for PWM. analogWrite(ledPin, ledLevel); // Serial.println(analogRead(ledLevel)); Uncomment this line to display the current //illuminance in c.u. in the Port Monitor. )

Also, note that the maximum current through the digital I/O of the Arduino should not exceed 40mA.

2. Instead of a digital method for determining the level of illumination, you can use an analog one. By adding a zener diode and a transistor to the divider, we get everything the same as with the processor, only in a smaller volume. Scheme:


Zener diode D1 - any power at 3.6 V. Transistor T1 - any NPN.

P.S. It would look much better if the wires were not sticking out. The design itself will be more technologically advanced if you put a coil on the bottom of the can and power the backlight without wires (following the example of wireless charging for phones).

The photo below shows the first experimental jar. The plant was planted in it on 06/01/13.


Subsequently, it was decided to abandon this bank, because. the plant did not have enough room for growth in it (also, the steel cover, with a high degree of probability, will rust over 40 years of use :)).


Instead of a small liter jar, the plants were planted in large 3 liter jars. The lid was also replaced with a plastic one.
P.S.S. Landing date: 06/30/2013 (07/01/13 a jar was opened to replace the lighting module).
Photo 1: 07/10/13

Photo 2: 07/17/13. The photo below shows how vegetation began to appear on the walls. This indicates that the simplest plant species also feel good in the system.

Photo 3: 02.09.13

Also, for the experiment, in a jar of money tree a mandarin seed was planted (not previously kept in wet gauze, etc.). As you can see in the photo above, now it has sprouted.
As experimental data accumulate, information will be posted here.

Walking every day through our pine forest and never ceasing to admire the variety of picturesque moss under my feet, every time I sadly thought about how short-lived its beauty was.

Another couple of months, the first frosts will strike, and all this beauty will be hidden under the snow. What a pity that it cannot be kept for constant observation and enjoyment!

And then, quite unexpectedly, a master class from Katerina and just about that! That's luck!

Now I’ll quickly introduce you to it and run into the forest to stock up moss!

While everyone rollsjam, Katya rolls up moss :) It turns out, although inedible, but quite cute and entertaining.

So, first of all, we move out to the nearest forest or park, taking with us a container, bags and some kind of tool to poke around in the ground. Recruiting undersizedplants(I collected mainly moss), pebbles and all sorts of other treasures, such as cones. Do not forget to dig a little earth with the plants and go home.

We are looking for houses jar with a hermetically sealed lid. You can just "roll up" the ecosystem in a jar, but the ability to open a jar can be very useful for watering plants at first, until the system stabilizes. Thoroughly wash the inside of the jar and wipe dry. I have a 750 ml jar, you can use larger and smaller vessels.

We will also need drainage. I will use coal as drainage, you can also use expanded clay orpebbles.

We also need water spray bottle for irrigation.

If you have a small vessel with a narrow neck, it will come in handy tweezers.

We lay out our wealth, sprinkle the plants a little with water so that they do not wither.

We lay a layer of drainage.

For drainage - a small layer of soil. Don't forget to spray it lightly with water.

Now we pretend that we are going to live in a bank.

I have a very small jar, so I didn’t put either a cone or an acorn there. Do not fill the jar to the top, leave at least 1/3 of the free space.

When you are happy with the result, spray the plants with water from a spray bottle and close the lid (do not forget to put a rubber band).

It is best to put the jar where direct sunlight does not reach it, and at first check if the moss dries up and spray it as needed. Ideally, the ecosystem in the bank will come to balance - condensate will accumulate on the walls, and watering will no longer be required.

If you decide to make yourself eternal terrarium”, or you already have one — share photos in the comments!

And I will share a few photos from the Internet for ideas and inspiration.

Very small terrariums, which, in my opinion, will look very good on the desktop.

Here is another example of a closed ecosystem - very popular on the net eternal terrarium in a light bulb.

And here is closed an ecosystem that is over 40 years old!

In closed ecosystems, any waste from one species must be disposed of by at least one other species. Therefore, if the goal of sustaining human life is to be pursued, then all human waste must eventually be converted into oxygen, food, and water.

A closed ecosystem must include at least one autotrophic organism. Although the use of chemitotrophs also has potential, this moment virtually all closed ecosystems are based on phototrophs such as green algae.

Examples

Large scale

Medium scale

small scale

see also

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• Article in Make Magazine

An excerpt characterizing a closed ecosystem

“Mr. adjutant,” he shouted, “tell them not to crowd. - The adjutant, having fulfilled the order, approached Prince Andrei. On the other side, the battalion commander rode up on horseback.
- Watch out! - a frightened cry of a soldier was heard, and, like a bird whistling on a fast flight, crouching to the ground, a grenade splashed softly, a few steps from Prince Andrei, near the horse of the battalion commander. The first horse, without asking whether it was good or bad to express fear, snorted, soared, almost dropping the major, and galloped off to the side. The horror of the horse was communicated to people.
- Lie down! - shouted the voice of the adjutant, lying on the ground. Prince Andrew stood in indecision. A grenade, like a top, smoking, spun between him and the recumbent adjutant, on the edge of arable land and meadows, near a sagebrush bush.
“Is this death? - thought Prince Andrei, looking with a completely new, envious look at the grass, at the wormwood and at the wisp of smoke curling from the spinning black ball. “I can’t, I don’t want to die, I love life, I love this grass, earth, air ...” He thought this and at the same time remembered that they were looking at him.
“Shame on you, officer! he said to the adjutant. “What…” he didn’t finish. At the same time, an explosion was heard, the whistle of fragments of a broken frame, as it were, the stuffy smell of gunpowder - and Prince Andrei rushed to the side and, raising his hand up, fell on his chest.
Several officers ran up to him. FROM right side belly spread across the grass a large stain of blood.
The called militia with stretchers stopped behind the officers. Prince Andrei lay on his chest, his face down to the grass, and heaved, snoring, breathing.
- What's up, come on!
The peasants came up and took him by the shoulders and legs, but he groaned plaintively, and the peasants, after exchanging glances, let him go again.
- Take it, put it, everything is the same! shouted a voice. Another time they took him by the shoulders and put him on a stretcher.