ICP Integrated Monitoring Acidification and eutrophication studies

1
ICP Integrated Monitoring
Acidification and eutrophication studies
Martin Forsius Finnish Environment Institute
(SYKE) ICP IM Programme Centre
2
Main tasks

• Assessment of relationships between critical load
  exceedances and empirical impact indicators at
  ICP IM sites
• Biodiversity assessment Literature review and
  first data analyses

3
Background

• European databases and maps of critical loads
  have been instrumental in effect-based protocols
  to the UNECE CLRTAP.
• For testing and validation of the key concepts in
  the critical load calculations, it is important
  to study the link between critical thresholds of
  acidification and eutrophication of the
  ecosystems and empirical impact indicators.

4
Study sites European IM network

• 1) Calculate the site-specific critical
• loads for acidification and
• eutrophication for aquatic and
• terrestrial ecosystems, and their
• exceedances (ExCL)
• 2) and present relationships
• between ExCL and surface
• water chemistry measurements
• at 18-24 European ICP IM sites

5
Materials and methods 1/3

• Mass balance critical loads
• Acidification CLA Steady State Water Chemistry
  (SSWC) (Henriksen and Posch 2001, UBA 2004)
• Eutrophication CLnutN Mass Balance model for
  nutrient nitrogen (UBA 2004)
• For a selection of 18 IM sites from 10 countries
  (AT, CZ, DE, EE, FI, GB, LT, LV, NO, SE) for
  which runoff water chemistry and runoff
  measurement data were available
• Exceedances deposition estimates at IM sites
• ExCLA S dep NAT2000 CLA
• ExCLnutN N dep NAT2000 CLnutN

6
Materials and methods 2/3

• CL for eutrophication empirical critical load of
  nutrient nitrogen CLempN
• (Bobbink and Hettelingh 2011)
• Based on empirical studies on the response of
  natural and semi-natural ecosystems to nitrogen
  deposition.
• CLempN are given for a groups of ecosystems,
  classified according to the EUNIS-European Nature
  Information System- habitat classification for
  Europe
• 24 IM sites
• Exceedances ExCLempN N dep NAT2000 - CLempN

7
Materials and methods 3/3

• Empirical impact indicators
• Acidification annual average runoff water
  concentrations and fluxes in the period 2000-2002
  for key acidification parameters such as Acid
  Neutralising Capacity ANC (CaMgNaK)
  (SO4ClNO3), hydrogen-ion (H) and non-marine
  sulphate (xSO4),
• and eutrophication total inorganic nutrient
  nitrogen (TIN NO3NH4)

8
ExCL nr of sites protected/not protected in
2000(NAT2000 projection)
ExCLA
ExCLnutN
ExCLempN
9
Good agreement between ExCLA and ANC and H
Conc.
?-cc 0.63 p lt 0.05
?-cc -0.67 p lt 0.05
Flux
?-cc 0.60 p lt 0.05
?-cc -0.84 p lt 0.05
10
ExCLnutN / ExCLempN vs. TIN (NO3 NH4)
Conc.
?-cc 0.61 p lt 0.05
Flux
?-cc 0.35 p lt 0.1
11
Concluding remarks on CL studies

• At the majority of the IM sites (72), CLA was
  not exceeded
• Instead, CLempN and CLnutN were exceeded at
  75?78 of the sites
• There was a relatively good agreement between
  ExCLA and ANC and H in runoff water
• Leaching of N was higher for sites with higher
  ExCLempN and ExCLnutN
• Evidence on the link between modelled critical
  thresholds and empirical impact indicators
• Scientific paper in preparation, updated results
  will also be used for WGE ex-post scenario
  analyses

12
Biodiversity assessment

• Review of published results from monitoring and
  analyses made within the ICP IM subprogrammes
  Trunk epiphytes (EP), Aerial green algae (AL),
  Understory vegetation and trees on intensive
  plots (VG) and Vegetation structure and species
  cover (VS).
• Preliminary results of data analyses.
• Results presented in ICP IM Annual Report 2011.

13
Relationship between significant time trends of
forest floor species and Ellenberg indicator
values N (nutrient availability), R (soil pH), L
(light availability), F (moisture)
14
(No Transcript)
15
Concluding remarks on biodiversity studies

• Lichens in high pollution regions in central
  Europe are more affected than in the Nordic
  countries.
• Algae or lichens differ in their suitability as
  indicators. At low deposition sites, algae may be
  more suitable as indicator than lichens.
• Species changes are highly variable between
  sites. The found significant changes are
  restricted to few species and the relationship
  with air pollution is not very clear.
• Further analyses will focus on community changes
  and changes of diversity using indicators. The
  results will again be compared with CL exceedance.

16
Thank you for your attention