Curonian Spit National Park - Lithuania

Basic Information
Site Name
Curonian Spit National Park
Short name
CSNP
Country
Lithuania
Web Address
Curonian spit national park
Operating Organisation
Administration of the Curonian Spit National Park
Site Manager
Lina Dikšaitė
Site Description
Kuršių nerija, the Curonian Spit, is a narrow strip of sand stretching 98 kilometres along the Baltic Sea in western Lithuania. The Curonian Spit is a unique and vulnerable, sandy and wooded cultural landscape on a coastal spit which features small Curonian lagoon settlements. The Spit was formed by the sea, wind and human activity and continues to be shaped by them. Rich with an abundance of unique natural and cultural features, it has retained its social and cultural importance. Local communities adapted to the changes in the natural environment in order to survive. This interaction between humans and nature shaped the Curonian Spit cultural landscape. The history of the Curonian Spit is dramatic: 5,000 years ago, a narrow ...
Show more ...
Last modified
2020-11-27 13:11:17

CC-BY-NC Logo

General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
1991
Observed properties
atmospheric parameterecosystem parameterwater parameterbiological parameterchemical parametersoil parameterairhumidityairwatervapourconcentrationairspecifichumidityairtemperatureairwatervapourpressurecarbondioxideconcentrationdewpointatmospherestabilityatmosphericpressureprecipitationintensitysnowdepthsnowwaterequivalentdaylightlengthsunshinedurationreflectedradiationintensitysolarradiationdiffusesolarradiationintensitynetsolarradiationirradiancetotalradiationirradiancewinddirectionwinddirection(meanandgust)windspeedwindspeed(meanandgust)treedistributionfireseverityindexecosystemstructurecommunitycompositionfaunisticdiversityfloristicdiversityspecieslistspeciesabundancebenthicinvertebratesabundancebirdsabundancespeciesgroupabundancespeciespresencebirdspresencediversityindexchlorophyllcontentofwaterwaterdepthsecchidepthrunoffamountwatercontentwaterlevelwaterqualitywatertemperaturetreeagetreediametertreeheightchangeinpopulationsizeovertimedissolvedorganiccarboninwaterwatersalinitysoilwatercontent
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Projects
Natura 2000
UNESCO World Heritage Site
EcoPotential (H2020)
Geographic
Marker
200 km
100 mi
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 55.518591 Longitude: 21.102075

Size
ca. 26464.00ha
Elevation (average)
11.00msl
Elevation (min)
0.00msl
Elevation (max)
67.00msl
Download

Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Coastal
Biome
Coastal
Ecosystem Type
Coastal
Desert
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Forest
Boreal forests/taiga
Mixed Forest
Marine
Temperate shelfs and seas
Biogeographical Region
Continental Bio-geographical Region
EUNIS habitat
Coastal habitats (B)
Coastal habitats (B) » Coastal dunes and sandy shores (B1)
Inland surface waters (C)
Inland surface waters (C) » Littoral zone of inland surface waterbodies (C3)
Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G)
Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G) » Mixed deciduous and coniferous woodland (G4)
Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G) » Lines of trees, small anthropogenic woodlands, recently felled woodland, early-stage woodland and coppice (G5)
Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G) » Lines of trees, small anthropogenic woodlands, recently felled woodland, early-stage woodland and coppice (G5) » Small coniferous anthropogenic woodlands (G5.4)
Woodland, forest and other wooded land (G) » Lines of trees, small anthropogenic woodlands, recently felled woodland, early-stage woodland and coppice (G5) » Small mixed broadleaved and coniferous anthropogenic woodlands (G5.5)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
7.00°C
Precipitation Annual
701.00mm
Geology
The Curonian Spit is the largest form of accumulative relief in the Baltic Sea. It presents a classical example of Quaternary period of Holocene epoch representing different stages
of the Baltic Sea forming process, where geomorphic shapes and traits are still undergoing development. Its formation is related to the middle part of the Holocene, when due to the active throw of the alluviums from the seabed to the shore the huge bars were formed and afterwards transformed by along-the-shore alluvium flows. The unique dune landscape was formed later due to the wind activity. The linear dunes (among the highest in the Northern Europe ? till 60 and more meters) predominate. They extend as a range over 70 km long and 0,3-1 km wide along the peninsula.
Vegetation
Forests cover about 70% of the Spit area, these are mostly pine forests. Natural or seminatural or planted forest habitats cover the Curonian Spit. Formation of pine and spruce forests, oak and alder woods constitute the indigenous vegetation of the Spit. Among 11547 ha of the lands covered with the forest vegetation, there are 8322 ha of pines, 207 ha of spruce, 1719 ha of birch, 832 ha of alder. 7065 ha are represented by artificial plantings (mainly pine cultures). The large areas are covered with the cultures of elder ages, which do not practically differ from the natural saplings of a green moss type. On the dune ranges consisting of almost bare quicksand the vegetation is hardly developed.
Soils
The soils of the Spit are very young and that is conditioned by relatively recent formation of the area and ongoing eolian processes. About 15 % of the spit area are characterised by
excessively humid soils with sharp differences in humidification between seasons and years.
Two types of soil prevail: sandy (both dry and wet) and the peat soil. There is no soil cover on moving dunes.
Hydrology
From the outside the Spit is washed by the Baltic Sea, from the interior side by the Curonian Lagoon. Hydrography network is represented by temporary brooks and lakes. During the warm period of the year the sea water temperature does not differ much from the ambient air temperature. The ice regime is described by high instability. During mild winters
the ice does not form or appear near the shore for several days only. The Curonian Lagoon is a shallow lagoon, connected with the sea by the narrow Klaipeda Strait. The depths along the shore are shallow. The average annual water temperature is +5 degrees C, in the warm period it is about +20 degrees and in some years it reaches +25 - +27
degrees C. The average perennial level of the lagoon is 12 centimetres higher than the level of the Baltic Sea. The lagoon is half-freshwater: the salt content is about 1-3% in winter and in summer ? less than 0,5% (in the Baltic Sea it is about 7%). In winter the thickness of ice-cover is up to 65 centimetres.
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category II – National Park
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
partly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
entire catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Equipment
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Paper
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Spatial data file (GIS)
Data infrastructure » Data storage » Unstructured file
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Energy supply » Permanent Power Supply Location » All over site/catchment
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (within site) » Telephone line
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (within site) » GMS/UMTS
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (within site) » Cable based
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Telephone line
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » GMS/UMTS
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Cable based
Maintenance infrastructure » Snow clearing equipment
Maintenance infrastructure » Snow clearing frequency » Daily
Observation devices » Measurement tower » More than 10 m above canopy
Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » > 5 places
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » > 10 beds
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Vehicle 4WD
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Vehicle 2WD
Accessible All Year
Yes
All parts of Site Accessible
Yes
Access Type
boat
Permanent Operation
Yes
General Data Policy
Formal acknowledgement of the dataset providers
Legal permission for dataset use is obtained
Mutual agreement on reciprocal sharing of data
LTER Site Classification
Regular
There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:
Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Precipitation ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave RadiationRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind SpeedRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.