Intensive monitoring of forest ecosystem in an air pollution gradient from Nikel and westwards

Updated 2000-11-08

The aim of the project Intensive monitoring of forest ecosystem in an air pollution gradient from Nikel and westwards, running in the period 1994-1998/99, has been to develop and perform environmental monitoring in the border areas between Norway and Russia. The project is a contribution to the joint Norwegian/Russian Environmental Co-operation. Russian scientists have established and performed analyses at four monitoring sites in Russia, while Norwegian scientists have done similar monitoring at adjacent Norwegian areas. The scientists have worked together in two workshops and in the field. The collaboration has been efficient carried out by extensive use of e-mail. An important result for of the project has been harmonised field methodology, which has been put into practice by means of common fieldwork. The impact on the forest ecosystems in the border areas is varying. In the areas close to the nickel smelter (in Nikel), the damage is serious, while the damage on the Norwegian areas are much less. Here the damage is mostly related to lack of lichen vegetation on birch stems. The moss vegetation in the bottom layer is also influenced. In some cases, when certain weather conditions fell together with high emissions of sulphur dioxide, visible damage has been developed on leaves of shrubs and trees, even on Norwegian territory. Even the emission normally does not cause visible damage on Norwegian territory; chemical influenced is traced over large Norwegian areas

This is not a National Implementation Plan (NIP) project

Status: Ongoing
Project time span: 1993 -
Data collection: 1993 - 1996
Data processing: 1993 - 1996
Data reporting: 1993 - 1996

Contact information

Contact person: Dan Aamlid
Address: Norwegian Forest Research Institute Høgskolevn 12 N-1432 Ås Norway
Phone: +47 64 94 90 00
Fax: +47 64 94 29 80
Email: on.ksin@dilmaa.nad
Other project contacts: Per Arild Aarrestad NINA Tungasletta 2 N 7485 Trondheim Norway

Parameters and Media

Parameter groups measured/observed/modelled

Acidification parameters

Biological effects

Heavy metals

Other metals/elements

Media sampled/studied/modelled

Geography

Regions studied: Other metals/elements; Other metals/elements; Other metals/elements

Data availability

Are data archived or planned to be archived at an AMAP Thematic Data Centre?: no
References to key publications (or planned publications) and data reports: Aamlid, D., Vassilieva,N., Aarrestad, P.A., Gytarsky, M.L., Lindmo, S., Karaban', R., Korotkov, V., Rindal 1, T., Kuzmicheva, V., & Venn, K. 2000. The ecological state of the ecosystems in the border areas between Norway and Russia. Boreal Environment Research 5:257-278.

Samples/specimens archived in specimen banks?: No

Methods & Procedures

Procedures and methodology used for, e.g., sampling and sample storage, sample pretreatment, extraction and analysis, including which laboratories are involved, references to methods employed, etc.: Aamlid, D., Vassilieva,N., Aarrestad, P.A., Gytarsky, M.L., Lindmo, S., Karaban', R., Korotkov, V., Rindal 1, T., Kuzmicheva, V., & Venn, K. 2000. The ecological state of the ecosystems in the border areas between Norway and Russia. Boreal Environment Research 5:257-278.

Additional Information

Is this a bi- AND multi-lateral project (i.e. a project involving cooperation between different countries)?: Yes
Other institutes involved in the project: Norwegian Forest Research Institute, Høgskoleveien 12, N-1432 Ås, Norway All-Russian Institute for Nature Conservation, Znamenskoe-Sadki, Moscow, Russia Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Tungasletta 2, N-7485 Trondheim, Norway Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, 20-B Glebovskaya St., Moscow, Russia All-Russian Scientific, Research, and Information Center for Forest Resources, 69-A, Novocheriomushkinskaya St., Moscow, Russia