Renon BOL1 - Italy

Picea abies dominated forest, since 1995 included in the ICP Forest European network and in ICP IM network code 01. This site is located in the Central Alps and it's grouped with LOM1;TRE1;FRI2 and Valbona in a cluster of sites called Forest of the Alps. The Renon-Selva Verde site is located in the municipality of Renon, at a distance of 12.2 km North-Northeast from the town of Bolzano. Eddy covariance measurements started in the year 1997. The site is placed on a porphyric plateau; the soil is classified as Haplic Podsol following F.A.O. The site vegetation, a subalpine coniferous forest, is of natural origin and is used for wood production. As a result of the traditional harvesting method, which consists of irregular cuttings of 50-80 cubic meters, overall the forest is unevenly aged, but with homogenous groups. The largest group present in the area is growing approximately since the year 1820, after Napoleon wars. The main forest species is spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst., 85% in number) followed by cembran pine (Pinus cembra L., 12%) and larch (Larix decidua Mill., 3%). In the clearings, covering approximately 15% of the area, the dominant grass species is Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. The canopy is irregular, with maximal height of 29 m. The mean leaf area index (LAI), measured by hemispherical photographs, is 5.1 m2 m-2. The climate is strongly influenced by elevation, with cool summer and moderately cold winter. Annual average temperature 4,6°C, average annual precipitation ammount 903 mm. An increase of the annual average temperature by 0,8°C were observed during the period 1990-2014.