HR: 15:10h
AN: GC53B-07    [Abstracts]
TI: The Significance of Forest Monitoring Programmes: the Finnish Perspective
AU: * Merila, P
EM: paivi.merila@metla.fi
AF: Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA), Parkano Research Unit, Kaironiementie 54, Parkano, 39700, Finland
AU: Derome, J
AF: METLA, Rovaniemi Research Unit, P.O.Box 16, Rovaniemi, 96301, Finland
AU: Lindgren, M
AF: METLA, Vantaa Research Unit, P.O.Box 18, Vantaa, 01301, Finland
AB: Finland has been participating in the ICP Forests programme (the International Co-operative Programme on the Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests) based on international agreements on the long- range transportation of air pollutants (LRTAP) and other associated monitoring programmes (e.g. Forest Focus, ICP Integrated Monitoring, ICP Vegetation) since 1985. The knowledge gained during the years has greatly increased our understanding of the overall condition of our forests and the factors affecting forest condition, the processes underlying forest ecosystem functioning, and the potential threats to our forests posed by human activities, both at home and abroad. The success of the monitoring activities in Finland is largely based on the experience gained during the early 1980's with our own national acidification project and, during the late 1980's and early 1990"s, in a number of regional monitoring projects. Finland's membership of the European Union (entry in 1996) has enabled us to further develop the infrastructure and coverage of both our extensive and intensive level networks. This broadening of our ecological understanding and development of international collaboration are now providing us with an invaluable basis for addressing the new monitoring challenges (biodiversity, climate change). The results gained in our monitoring activities clearly demonstrate the value of long-term monitoring programmes. The main results have been regularly reported both at the European (e.g. http://www.icp- forests.org/Reports.htm) and national level (e.g. http://www.metla.fi/julkaisut/workingpapers/2007/mwp045- en.htm). However, the datasets have not been intensively explored and exploited, and few of the important methodological and ecological findings have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. This has, understandably, not been the first priority of the international monitoring programmes. A number of the intensive forest monitoring plots in Finland have recently been included in LTER platforms, thus potentially increasing scientific collaboration between researchers across different governmental institutes and education bodies.
DE: 0414 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling (0412, 0793, 1615, 4805, 4912)
DE: 0439 Ecosystems, structure and dynamics (4815)
DE: 0469 Nitrogen cycling
DE: 0478 Pollution: urban, regional and global (0345, 4251)
DE: 0488 Sulfur cycling
SC: Global Environmental Change [GC]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting