ISHS Acta Horticulturae 440: International Symposium on Plant Production in Closed Ecosystems
PREFACE |
| Author: | T. Takakura |
| Abstract:
The International Symposium on Plant Production in Closed Ecosystems - Automation, Culture and Environment (ACE-systems) was held in Narita from August 25 to 29, with two post sysmposium tours. This was the second ACE-systems conference. The first one was held in New Jersey USA in 1994. We had a total of 331 attendants, 81 from 22 foreign countries, 250 from Japan, and 24 accompaning persons at the International Symposium. We deeply hope the third one will be organized before the year 2000, maybe in Europe or some other location. It goes without saying that research of plant production in closed ecosystems, which is the main topic of the symposium, is highly important. The advancement of plant production in closed ecosystems will have an expanding role in the coming 21st century in conservation of the global environment, sustainable agriculture for food production, and economic savings in labor and efficiency. The symposium consisted of two parts. In the first two days, special lectures on greenhouse production systems and plant production in space CELSS were given by distinguished scholars from several countries. All presentations were published in the book “Plant Production in Closed Ecosystems” from Kluwer Academic Publishers, B.V. in the Netherlands. Following the special lecture session were technical oral and poster presentations, which were held over the next two days. Almost all of the technical presentations from this session are gathered in this issue of Acta Horticulturae. Our symposium site, Narita is the main airway entrance gate to Japan, and for us, it is our opening to the world. It was our great pleasure to have the symposium in such a nice city as Narita. All attendants to the symposium enjoyed plenty of opportunities to sample the best of the culture, beauty, and fun of the city. Two post symposium tours were conducted, one to the Tohoku area and the other to the Ibaraki and Chiba districts. In the Tohoku area, the main points of interest were the CELSS systems and the Tohoku Agricultural Experiment Station, MAFF. In the Ibaraki and Chiba districts, participants visited the National Institutes in the Tsukuba area and some local nurseries. I would like to thank all of the individuals who helped in the preparations for this symposium. I must also acknowledge the contributions from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Chiba Prefecture, and the city of Narita. The financial support from the Commemorative Association for the Japan World Exposition, Tokyo Electic Power Company, Kansai Electric Power Company, Chubu Power Company, Kyushu Power Company, Shikoku Power Company, the Kajima Foundation and other private companies is greatly appreciated. Last but not the least, my appreciation also goes to each invited speaker and to all of the authors who have made presentations.
In addition, sincere appreciation and cordial thanks are extended to all members of the organizing committee. | |
