biodome

A biodome is a domed or enclosed structure designed to create and maintain a self-contained ecosystem. Such facilities replicate natural biomes and environmental conditions within a controlled setting to support plants, animals, and microorganisms for research, education, conservation, and sometimes public display. Biodomes vary in size and may be modeled as greenhouses, glasshouses, or large geodesic domes, with climate control, water recycling, soil management, and monitoring of temperature, humidity, light, and pollutant levels to sustain cyclic ecological processes.

One of the most famous biodome projects is Biosphere 2, completed in 1991 near Oracle, Arizona. It comprises multiple biomes inside a sealed glass enclosure and was used for long-term closed ecological-system experiments, including a crewed mission to test life-support concepts for space habitation. The project highlighted challenges in maintaining atmospheric balance, energy budgets, and system integration and later shifted to academic and research ownership.

Other prominent examples and related concepts include the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, which houses several massive biomes containing tropical and temperate plant communities for research and education as well as tourism. Biodomes also appear in architectural and horticultural contexts as controlled-environment spaces that support conservation, crop research, and urban green infrastructure. The broader term encompasses any enclosed habitat designed to simulate natural ecosystems for study or display.