MYT Experts

GOALS

The project includes researcher work required in data provision and management and in national and international cooperation under UN-ECE ICP Forests Level II intensive forest monitoring scheme.Finland has participated in ICP Forests Level II programme since 1995.

The Level II monitoring plots are located in 5 managed forests; the same monitoring is applied for protected forests in NECD project. The monitoring programme is implemented following the ICP Forests Manual and includes measurements on bulk deposition, stand throughfall, soil, soil solution and needle chemistry, stand litterfall and its chemistry, stand growth, crown condition, forest disease and pests, community structure of understorey vegetation, and soil moisture and temperature. Weather data comes from the nearest weather station of FMI. The monitoring frequency varies from continuous to 10 years, The monitoring data is submitted yearly in databases of Luke and ICP Forests.

IMPACT

The project is based on UN-ECE ICP Forests Level II programme, which was launched in 1985 under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention, formerly CLRTAP) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).Besides AIr Convention, the monitoring programme contributes to criteria and indicators of sustainable forest management followed in Forest Europe process. In addition, the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) utilizes forest monitoring data. Luke's ICP Forests activities participate in eLTER research infrastructure, which is included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures.

The monitoring plot network and data base constitute and important research and monitoring infrastructure, which can be used in forest condition monitoring, empirical research as well as in modelling e.g. regarding carbon sequestration and the effect of climate change on forests. The monitoring data serve also as a background and reference data.ICP Forests Level II programme has ca,.500 forest monitoring plots in Europe.