This document discusses forest monitoring in Europe and how those methods can inform monitoring of urban forests. It provides an overview of established forest monitoring networks in Europe like ICP Forests, which use standardized protocols across thousands of sample plots to monitor forest status and trends. The document suggests urban forest monitoring should leverage existing protocols but also consider issues more specific to urban areas like impacts of visitors, proximity to pollution sources, and use of remote sensing. It provides examples of research investigating topics like volatile organic compound emissions in urban forests near cities.

1. Forest monitoring in Europe:
What can we learn and use
for monitoring Urban Forests
Giorgio Matteucci, CNR-ISAFOM, Italy
Primoz Simoncic, SFI, Slovenia
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

2. Matteucci G., Simoncic P. Forest monitoring in Europe and UF
Forest monitoring in Europe
and urban forests
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

3. Monitoring in Europe (ICP-Forests)
 Aim: status and
6000 sample points trends of parameters plots
Level II, ~ 800
(Level I )
 Common, clear, shared protocols (science into practice)
 Lot of plots, statistical design (sometimes)
 Continuity (but: need of national support)
 Database
 Process understanding often inferential
 Data for modelling/validation and use of models
 Integrated and combined data evaluation powerful but
relatively “slow”

4. Research
 Aim: process understanding/proactive
 Methods development (advancement of science)
 Statistical sampling
 Rely on projects, sometimes discontinuous
 Relatively few plots (particularly when complex and costly)
 Development of models
 Database
 Scale issues
 Integrated evaluation of data powerful and “fast”

5. Studying Urban forests
 Something in the middle? (monitoring-research)
 Define the scope
 Basic and structural features
 Response to pressure (e.g. polluttants)
 Process understanding (how they function)
 Impact/role for urban environment
 Do not reinvent the wheel…….
 Use of established protocol unless UF peculiarities
o comparability, extension of other networks
Process understanding (how they function)
Relevance for public, policy, ecosystem services
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

6. Matteucci G., Simoncic P. Forest monitoring in Europe and UF
Monitoring basic
and more in-depth parameters/variables
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

7. Basic features: characterise forest structures and main attributes
Example: Protocol of
the Italian NFI INFC, 2005 www.infc.it

8. More intensive monitoring: the ICP-Forests example
Level II, ~ 800 plots

9. LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

10. Outline of a typical ICP-Forests plot 1/2
ozone passive
sampler

11. Outline of a typical ICP-Forests plot 2/2
buffer zone
fence
analysis area (50  50)
grid (10 10)
ANALYSIS AREA
BUFFER ZONE
meteo
station
SERVICE AREAS
fenced
service
corridor
stemflow
collectors
litter
collectors
bulk
collectors
service
square

12. Matteucci G., Simoncic P. Forest monitoring in Europe and UF
Do we need a sampling “design”?
Example from LIFE+ ManFor C.BD
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

13. SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING DESIGN
FOR THE POSITIONING OF SILVICULTURAL OPTIONS,
BIODIVERSITY AND CARBON MONITORING
Phase 1) Plots positioning
STEP 1
N
173,20 m
3 ha
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

14. SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING DESIGN FOR THE POSITIONING
OF SILVICULTURAL OPTIONS, BIODIVERSITY AND CARBON MONITORING
Phase 1) Plots positioning
STEP 1
N
173,20 m
3 ha
STEP 2
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

15. SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING DESIGN FOR THE POSITIONING
OF SILVICULTURAL OPTIONS, BIODIVERSITY AND CARBON MONITORING
Phase 1+) Plots and sampling areas positioning
STEP 1
N
173,20 m
3 ha
STEP 2
STEP 3
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

16. SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING DESIGN FOR THE POSITIONING
OF SILVICULTURAL OPTIONS, BIODIVERSITY AND CARBON MONITORING
Phase 1+) Plots and sampling areas positioning
STEP 1
N
173,20 m
3 ha
STEP 2
STEP 3
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

17. SURVEY METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING DESIGN FOR THE POSITIONING
OF SILVICULTURAL OPTIONS, BIODIVERSITY AND CARBON MONITORING
Phase 1+) Scheme of sampling areas
STEP 1
N
173,20 m
3 ha
STEP 2
STEP 3
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

18. Matteucci G., Simoncic P. Forest monitoring in Europe and UF
Issues and topics
specific for Urban Forests
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

19. Some issues more specific for/to Urban Forests
 Remote+proximal sensing: diversity, health status
 Impact and relevance of visitors
 Trampling (e.g. vegetation diversity)
o monitor changes in time
o possible “reserved areas”
 Services provided to public (e.g.
running, freshness, landscape, walking)
 Citizen science
 Other ecosystem services
 Vicinity to cities
 Point source for pollution
o Deposition and impact on forest+vegetation
 Presence of species with potential allergic pollens
 Presence of Volatile Organic Compound emitters
 Impact on local climate (and from local climate)

20. Remote and proximal sensing: example from ICP-Forest
TOS1
Colognole

21. Remote and proximal sensing: example from ICP-Forest
Fraxinus
Arbutus ornus TOS1
unedo
Colognole
Quercus ilex
Quercus
virgiliana
CROWN
PROJECTION
Quercus MAP
petraea 1:250 scale

22. Matteucci G., Simoncic P. Forest monitoring in Europe and UF
Going further?
LIFE+ EMoNFUr meeting
14-15 May 2012, Ljubliana, Slovenia

23. The earth reactor

24. The earth reactor
Monoterpenes

25. The earth reactor
Monoterpenes
BVOC
VOC+ NOx
BVOC

26. Castelporziano, Roma
Courtesy of Grignetti et al. 1997
•41 40' 49.3'' N, 12 23' 30.6'‘ E
• 6000 ha
• 25 km from Rome
• From sand dunes to
macchia, evergreen and deciduous
natural forests, pine
plantation, grasslands

27. Fluxes of CO2 – H2O - BVOC – O3 -

28. Montelibretti
Ozone concentrations
120
Castelporziano EMEP station, Montelibretti Castelporziano
110
100
90
Periodo di
misura
80
O3 concentration (ppb)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Day (May - June 2007)
Lower concentrations at Castelporziano compared to Montelibretti (40 km inland)
No significant contribution of Castelporziano forest to ozone formation through BVOCS
Relatively high night O3 values in Castelporziano related to land breeze from Rome
Fares et al., 2010 BG

29. Multilevel Research and Monitoring Platforms
To study processes and responses to natural and anthropogenic disturbances

30. Some final reflections
 Define the scope
 Test a protocol and tailor it if necessary (learnig by doing)
 Refer to existing protocols
 Develop specific protocols for UF specific issues
 Try to produce a concept of different intensity of monitoring (up to
experimental urban forest)
 Urban forests are green infrastructures: if monitored and studied,
they become also a research infrastructure
 The “scientific” space for this topic is open: EMoNFUr can fill it!!!

31. Thanks for your attention!!!!
http://www.manfor.eu