Long-Term Forest and Ecosystem Monitoring in Spain: Integration of ICP Forests and ICP IM Datasets

<p data-start="79" data-end="792">Since the 1980s, the international programmes ICP Forests and ICP Integrated Monitoring (ICP IM), coordinated by UNECE under the CLRTAP, have provided long-term datasets essential for assessing the impacts of air pollution and climate change on European forests and ecosystems. ICP Forests comprises over 5,700 large-scale Level I plots and 640 intensive Level II plots, of which 14 are located in Spain. ICP IM, in turn, integrates physical, chemical, and biological measurements across multiple environmental compartments to analyse the combined effects of pollutants and climate variability; Spain contributes with a single monitoring site (ES02) located in the Señorío de Bertiz Natural Park.</p>

<p data-start="794" data-end="1583">The <strong data-start="798" data-end="917">dataset generated within the Spanish contribution includes one ICP IM plot (ES02) and 14 ICP Forests Level II plots</strong>, all integrated into the European LTER network and linked to Directive (EU) 2016/2284. In total, these sites deliver data from more than 15 monitoring subprogrammes (10 mandatory and 5 optional), covering meteorology, air and precipitation chemistry, soil and water chemistry, throughfall, foliar and litterfall chemistry, vegetation structure and diversity, phenology, and forest damage assessments, among others. These long-term series, many extending over three decades, provide a robust basis for detecting environmental trends, validating predictive models, and supporting European policies on air pollution, forest management, and climate change adaptation.</p>

<p data-start="1585" data-end="2009">In Spain, the <strong data-start="1599" data-end="1618">BIOMA Institute</strong> plays a key role in ensuring national participation in these programmes. Through its <strong data-start="1704" data-end="1727">LICA research group (Integrated Environmental Quality Laboratory)</strong>, it is responsible for all laboratory analyses of samples from the 14 ICP Forests plots. For the ICP IM plot (ES02), LICA assumes full responsibility for the monitoring process, from field measurements and sample collection to analysis, data processing, and reporting of results.</p>

Default

Identification

Alternate Identifier

8214f9eb-dd8a-4486-9327-c129982b24cf

Publication Date
2024-09-30
Title

Long-Term Forest and Ecosystem Monitoring in Spain: Integration of ICP Forests and ICP IM Datasets

Abstract

<p data-start="79" data-end="792">Since the 1980s, the international programmes ICP Forests and ICP Integrated Monitoring (ICP IM), coordinated by UNECE under the CLRTAP, have provided long-term datasets essential for assessing the impacts of air pollution and climate change on European forests and ecosystems. ICP Forests comprises over 5,700 large-scale Level I plots and 640 intensive Level II plots, of which 14 are located in Spain. ICP IM, in turn, integrates physical, chemical, and biological measurements across multiple environmental compartments to analyse the combined effects of pollutants and climate variability; Spain contributes with a single monitoring site (ES02) located in the Señorío de Bertiz Natural Park.</p>

<p data-start="794" data-end="1583">The <strong data-start="798" data-end="917">dataset generated within the Spanish contribution includes one ICP IM plot (ES02) and 14 ICP Forests Level II plots</strong>, all integrated into the European LTER network and linked to Directive (EU) 2016/2284. In total, these sites deliver data from more than 15 monitoring subprogrammes (10 mandatory and 5 optional), covering meteorology, air and precipitation chemistry, soil and water chemistry, throughfall, foliar and litterfall chemistry, vegetation structure and diversity, phenology, and forest damage assessments, among others. These long-term series, many extending over three decades, provide a robust basis for detecting environmental trends, validating predictive models, and supporting European policies on air pollution, forest management, and climate change adaptation.</p>

<p data-start="1585" data-end="2009">In Spain, the <strong data-start="1599" data-end="1618">BIOMA Institute</strong> plays a key role in ensuring national participation in these programmes. Through its <strong data-start="1704" data-end="1727">LICA research group (Integrated Environmental Quality Laboratory)</strong>, it is responsible for all laboratory analyses of samples from the 14 ICP Forests plots. For the ICP IM plot (ES02), LICA assumes full responsibility for the monitoring process, from field measurements and sample collection to analysis, data processing, and reporting of results.</p>

Dataset Language

eng

 
Dataset Creator
Dataset Creator
Dataset Creator
Dataset Contact
Keywords (ozone (http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/20853))

Geographic Coverage

Geographic Description

The 15 study plots are located in Spain and are geographically distributed across the country

Bounding Box

West Bounding Coordinate

-9.300000

East Bounding Coordinate

4.333333

North Bounding Coordinate

43.783333

South Bounding Coordinate

36.000000

Temporal Coverage

Range of Dates

Begin Date

2000-04-01

End Date

2023-12-01

Taxonomic Coverage

Taxonomic Classification

Taxonomic Rank Name

Species

Taxonomic Rank Value

Fagus sylvatica L.

Common Name

European beech

Taxon ID

ITIS:TSN 502590

License Information

Intellectual Rights

This data package is released to the CC BY-ND 4.0 domain under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

 

Distribution

Online

A brief description of the the content of online URL.

DOI

URL
https://doi.org/10.48372/SEWG-0M20
 
 

Project

• Project

Title

International Cooperative Programme on Integrated Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Ecosystems (ICP IM)

Abstract

Over a period of about 15 years, the BIOMA Institute has participated in numerous European forest monitoring networks. As mentioned, one of this programmes is the ICP Integrated Monitoring Programme, part of the effect-oriented activities under the 1979 Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP), which covers the region of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). ICP IM belongs to a group of six specialist ICP Programmes (ICPs) which have been set up under the LRTAP Convention's Working Group on Effects to look at relevant receptors and environmental issues.



The ICP IM monitored sites are plots located in natural or semi-natural areas, and the aim is the simultaneous measure of physical, chemical and biological properties of the ecosystems over time. The monitoring of these locations is divided into a number of compartmental subprogrammes which are linked by the use of the same parameters (cross-media flux approach) and/or same/close stations (cause-effect approach). The dataset belong to the Air Chemistry sub-programme (AC), which gives important information for assessing the impact of air pollutants on the ecosystem due to long-range atmospheric transport. This information is essential because of the direct and indirect interactions of gases and aerosols with the vegetation, which negatively impact the forest ecosystems.



In particular, due to the known impact of ozone on human health and vegetation, the measurement of ozone is one of the mandatory parameters within the AC sub-programme. Therefore, this dataset includes 15 years (2008-2023) of ozone (O3) quantification in two sample-plots within a beech forest (Fagus sylvatica) in Navarre (Spain), with a monthly resolution.The way of sampling is the one recommended by the subprogramme (EMEP: https://projects.nilu.no/ccc/manual/), and laboratory analysis and cuantification is carried out according to the "Passam protocol". This protocol explains the standard operating procedure for the determination of ozone by the use of UV-visible spectrophotometry from passive passam dosimeters.



In conclusion, the main objective of this subprogramme is to perform long-term monitoring of the most damaging pollutants in forest ecosystems through as many diverse ecosystems in the European region as possible. And by studying these time series we could understand how these pollutants affect forests, which would help us to make better decisions to improve their health.

Personnel

Organization Name

BIOMA Institute for Biodiversity and the Environment - University of Navarra

Individual Name

Given Name

David

Surname

Elustondo

Position Name

Principal Researcher

Personnel

Organization Name

BIOMA Institute for Biodiversity and the Environment - University of Navarra

Individual Name

Given Name

Maria Esther

Surname

Lasheras

Position Name

Researcher

Personnel

Organization Name

BIOMA Institute for Biodiversity and the Environment - University of Navarra

Individual Name

Given Name

Lorea

Surname

Perez

Position Name

Research Technician

 
 

Methods

• Method

Method Step

Description

The special siting criteria is described by EMEP (EMEP: https://projects.nilu.no/ccc/manual/). In order to monitor long-range transboundary air pollution, the AC site must be representative with respect to exposure to the air mass, i. e. deep valleys, mountain tops and passes should be avoided. The ideal is a freely exposed site in moderately undulating terrain. The air inlet should be 2 - 5 m above ground and the AC site should not be sheltered by vegetation, but located in a large open glade or a large clearing.



The UV-absorption method using a continuous ambient air ozone analyser has been proven to be reliable and robust in field operation (EMEP, Chapter 3.9.1). Therefore, it is recommended for ozone measurements at IM sites as described in the EMEP manual.

Instrumentation

Instrument

Passam dosimeters for ozone

Method Step

Description

It is recommended that the chemical laboratory is accredited under one of the laboratory accreditation systems, or is performing close to these standards. The laboratory must check on its performance, with respect to detection limits, precision and repeatability by repeated analysis of control solutions. The general procedures for quality assurance given by EMEP should be followed, and the QA/QC procedures should be included in all parts of the activities performed at the site and in the laboratory.



Standard work procedures should be followed for all activities, and in particular for this dataset, the processes described in the passam protocol are applied. The QA/QC routines in laboratory also include field blanks and control samples. After laboratory processes, automation scripts have been developed to optimize quality control and the export of relevant data. These scripts help identify samples that do not pass QA/QC procedures and ensure the data are formatted according to our requirements.

Software

Title

Python

Version

v3

Sampling

Study Extent

Ozone should be monitored continuously and hourly average values should be stored. In this dataset, the collected values are calculated monthly by averaging all the corresponding data.

Sampling Description
 
 

Data Tables

• Data Table

Name

Historical_AirChemistry

Physical

Data Format

Externally Defined Format

Format Name

csv: comma separated values

Attribute List

Attribute

Name

sampleID

Label

Identification of the sample-point

Definition

Unique identifier for the sampling point

Attribute

Name

ScodeICPIM

Label

Code of the sample-point

Definition

Unique code for the sampling point.

Attribute

Name

PlotCode

Label

Plot or site code

Definition

Code for the general plot where the different samples are collected, belonging to one of the locations in the ICP IM program.

Attribute

Name

SiteName

Label

Plot or site name

Definition

Name for the general plot where the different samples are collected, belonging to one of the locations in the ICP IM program.

Attribute

Name

YearDate

Label

Sampling year

Definition

Year in which the sample was made.

Standard Unit

number

Attribute

Name

MonthDate

Label

Sampling month

Definition

Month in which the sample was made.

Standard Unit

number

Attribute

Name

O3(µg/m3)

Label

Ozone cuantification

Definition

Ozone cuantification in micrograme per cubic meter.

Missing Value Code

Code

empty

Explanation

If this attribute is empty, it means that the value for that sample on that date has not been collected.

Missing Value Code

Code

<

Explanation

If the value of the attribute is ‘<’, it means that the data has not passed quality control.

Measurement Scale

Measurement Type

interval

Annotation

Property URI
http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/20748
Value URI
http://vocabs.lter-europe.net/EnvThes/20853