Das Projekt "Extending the Multi-Isotopes in a Controlled Environment (MICE) Facility - New climate regulation system and carbon isotope analysers" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Zürich, Geographisches Institut durchgeführt. In this proposal, we require funding to extend the capacity of an existing facility, the 'Multi-Isotope labelling in a Controlled Environment' (MICE) facility. This device is for the study of the carbon cycle in the plant-soil system. It uses multi stable-isotopes (13C, 18O, 2H, 15N) to understand the effects of the global-change drivers (temperature, moisture, CO2 increase and N deposition among others) on the C cycle processes, from photosynthesis in the leaf to organic matter mineralisation or stabilisation in the soil. This facility has been developed over the past two years with our team budget. It is now involved in dozen's of projects, including the five described in this proposal: 1) the study of root contribution to soil organic matter under drought conditions; 2) The influence of biodiversity on organ-ic matter stabilisation in soils; 3) The study of soil organic matter vulnerability of Swiss soils to global change; 4) the formation of soil organic matter in mountain soils and 5) the study of quality changes in European soils by the addition biochar. Our facility is unique in many aspects, it has the capacity to use different isotopes at the same time, as well as a semi-automatic climate control that allows us to run long-term experiments. Our system is however, restricted to relatively narrow climatic conditions (equivalent to plants on the floor of a tropical forest) and has a time consuming and expensive sample collection system. In this proposal, we would like to extend the capacity of this existing facili-ty in two areas: 1) better lights, temperature and moisture controls, to broaden possible climatic conditions to include boreal and temperate and 2) a 13C isotope laser analyser for measuring large numbers of gas and solid carbon isotope samples. These two items will open a whole new dimension of possible studies: we will be able to study carbon processes in great detail and at high precision with a high temporal precision, under most of the eco-system-conditions that currently exist on earth.