Hyytiälä SMEAR II LTER - Finland

The SMEAR site (Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations) is situated in the Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station of the University of Helsinki. The site consists of a managed, 60-yr old Scots pine forest stand, two open oligotrophic fen sites and a humic lake with forested catchment. The main idea of SMEAR type infrastructures is continuous, comprehensive measurements of fluxes, storages and concentrations in the land ecosystem–atmosphere continuum. The forest measurements are operated continuously since 1996, and include e.g. leaf, stand and ecosystem scale measurements of greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds, pollutants (e.g. O3, SO2, NOx) and aerosols, in addition to full suite of meteorological measurements. The biogeochemical cycles and vegetation–soil–atmosphere interactions are studied both experimentally and with long-term observations. The site has full carbon, water and nitrogen budgets made over 10 years, and it is a full ICOS ecosystem and atmospheric station.