Nacetin forest research plots - Czechia

DEIMS.iD

https://deims.org/85a36451-2dcf-4221-8d1e-5b95af210438

Basic Information

Site Name

Nacetin forest research plots

Short name

Nacetin forest plots

Country

Czechia

Web Address

Načetín forest research plots

Site Manager

Filip Oulehle

Operating Organisation

Forests of the Czech Republic, state enterprise

Czech Geological Survey, Prague, Czech Republic

Funding Agency

Global Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences

Czech Geological Survey, Prague, Czech Republic

Keywords

acidification

atmospheric deposition

biogeochemical cycles

biomass

climate change

eutrophication

Forest

Soil

soil solution chemistry

Site Description

The spruce and beech stands under study are located in the Czech Republic in the Ore Mountains near the German border, close to the village of Načetín (50_35026” N, 13_15014” E). Both of the stands lie close to each other (ca. 700 m), so they are exposed to the same geological and climatic conditions. The average annual temperature is 7.1 _C and average annual precipitation is 1110 mm (2005–2017). Paragneiss underlies both stands, which are sloped to the north-west. The dominant soil type is dystric cambisol. The spruce stand lies at an elevation of 784ma.s.l. and it is covered by 80 years old monoculture of Norway spruce (Picea abies). The beech stand is situated at an elevation of 823 m a.s.l. and it is composed predominantly of European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) that are approximately 140 years old.

Last modified

2020-03-30 09:03:19

General Characteristics, Purpose, History

Site Status

existing

Year Established

1992

Purpose

Research on forest biogeochemistry has been conducting at Načetín research plots in Ore Mts. since 1992. The primary focus was to study impacts of acid deposition (“acid rain” caused by SO2, NOx a NH3 emissions) and eutrophication on nutrient cycling and vitality of managed spruce forests. Since 2003, identical research spread into the adjacent beech forest. In a monthly time step atmospheric deposition (S, N, P, DOC, DON, Na, K, Mg, Ca, As, Cd, Pb) and soil solution chemistry (S, N, P, DOC, DON, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Al, Mn, Fe, As, Cd, Pb) has been monitored since 1994. Besides long-term monitoring of element fluxes, both forest plots are widely used for specific research questions related to the human impacts on forest functioning. Currently, assessments of soil acidity and nitrogen availability on soil carbon cycling and sequestration were conducted by on-going sulphur, nitrogen and lime addition experiments. Since 2013, monthly measurements of CO2 soil efflux have been undertaken. Regular measurements of soil microbial community (bacteria and fungi) are available at both plots since 2013. Since 2017, in each forest stand, eight trees representing stand DBH variation were selected and equipped with devices continuously measuring sap flow. Furthermore, meteorological characteristics (temperature, moisture, solar radiation and precipitation) and soil physical characteristics (moisture, water potential, temperature) are available for both forests. All available data are intensively used for prediction of nutrient cycling in forests under changing environment (acid deposition, forest management, climate) by employment of dynamic biogeochemical models.

History

The history of the forests can be briefly described as follows: based on maps of the Stabile cadaster from 1842, both sites were dominated by mixed beech-conifer (spruce/fir) forests. However, soon after this mapping (1850s), the current spruce stand was converted into spruce monoculture, which was first harvested in 1930s. Thus, the current spruce forest is a second generation plantation. Unlike the spruce stand, the beech stand continued as a mixed forest of dominantly beech and spruce (based on aerial photographs from 1953). During the 1970s and 1980s, however, mature spruce trees continuously died off due to air pollution (SO2 emissions causing acid rain), and the stand became pure beech monoculture. In the spruce stand, spruce trees survived the peak acid deposition as the plantation was relatively young. It is likely that before the 2nd World War, dense settlements in that area caused human exploitation of natural resources (timber harvest) and historical agricultural activities (forest pasture, litter raking, see [3]), which affected the surrounding landscape. After the war, German inhabitants were expelled from the former Czechoslovakia, and human activities largely ceased in this border region. Research on forest biogeochemistry has been conducting at Načetín research plots in Ore Mts. since 1992. The primary focus was to study impacts of acid deposition (“acid rain” caused by SO2, NOx a NH3 emissions) and eutrophication on nutrient cycling and vitality of managed spruce forests. Since 2003, identical research spread into the adjacent beech forest.

Research Topics

environmental science

global change

soil science

management

Parameters

atmospheric parameter