The type and time duration (where available) of data sets from selected sites in CEE countries
Czech Republic
Krkonose National Park and LTER site
Complex mountain system, subarctic mires, Ramsar site
thorough inventories, monitoring and research since 1960s
permanent plots: vascular plants since 1967
nonvascular plants since 1981
invertebrates since 1982
vertebrates since 1983
hydrology data since 1904
climate, soil, geology since 1932
GIS (ARC/INFO - more than 300 layers)
a 4-member data management team exists.
Contact person: Jiri Flousek, Krkonose NP Administration, [email protected]
Trebon Basin Biosphere Reserve and LTER site:
mosaic of wetlands, and temperate broad leafed and mixed forests, 2 Ramsar sites since 1990 and 1993
temperature since 1876
hydrology since 1945
bird census since 1960
water chemistry
fishponds monitoring and management over 20 years, waterfowl
population fluctuations, mammals, insects, forestry plots since1938.
Contact person: Miroslav Hatle, Trebon Basin PLA Administration, [email protected]
Hungary
Sikfõkút Oak Forest LTER site:
temperate deciduous forest
continuous data on tree, shrub and herb layer
dynamics and meteorological elements since 1972
non-continuous data for primary production, secondary production
zoomass, litter production and decomposition, soil bacteria and fungi
nutrient cycling in the air-soil-plant systems
oak decline since 1979
Contact person; Janos Attila Toth, Debrecen University, [email protected]
Lake Balaton LTER site:
temperate shallow lake
meteorological and hydrological data since 1900
water chemistry at 12 sample points since 1975
phytoplankton and zooplankton since 1965
fish yields since 1905
benthic and littoral invertebrates since 1975
macrophytes since 1975
Contact person: Sandor herodek Balaton Limnological Inst.HAS, [email protected]
KISKUN sand forest-steppe LTER site:
mosaic of semiarid grasslands, wetlands, Juniper-Poplar woodland in agricultural landscape
meteorological and ground water records since 1950
historical and recent vegetation maps from 1783-84, 1883-84,1980ies, and 1997-2000 years
flora database for the vascular flora since 1995
grassland phytomass since 1969 (not continuous)
insect records from light traps since 1962,
insect dynamics in apple orchards 1986-1994
plant-herbivore interactions since 1991
Contact person: Edit Kovacs-Lang, Inst.Ecol.Bot.HAS, [email protected]
Poland
Bieszczady Mountains LTER site:
Carpathian beech - fir forest, alpine meadows, reservoirs
data on climate
hydrology, forest structure since 1960
history of land use since 1850
rodent populations since the mid-1950s
large mammals since 1980
invertebrates since 1960
hydrochemistry since 1973
benthic fauna since 1989
ozone studies since 1997 (Regional Network on the Carpathians)
Contact person: Kajetan Perzanowski Internat.Centre of Ecol.PAS [email protected]
Romania
Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve:
complex of natural and seminatural ecosystems like river branches, channels, lakes, swamps, wetlands, dunes, forests
early data on hydrology, sediment formation, structure and dynamics of
plant communities fish and bird populations
since the 1980-ies. records on water chemistry, heavy metals
phytoplankton, macrophytes, primary and secondary production
Contact person: Angheluta Vadineanu, Bucharest University, [email protected]
Retezat Mountains Biosphere Reserve:
complex mountain system (the site belongs to the GEF network)
earlier surveys produced data on geology, geography and the flora of the region
since the 1980-ies floristic, faunistic, phytocoenological data, water
chemistry, plankton data from monutain lakes
The site is a member of the “Carpathian Regional Ozone and Air pollution network”
Contact person: Dan Cogalniceanu, Bucharest University, [email protected]
Slovakia
Bab Forest LTER site:
temperate deciduous oak - hornbeam forest
data on biodiversity primary and secondary productivity
meteorological elements
nutrient cycles
soil characteristics
Contact person: Pavol Elias, Agricultural University of Nitra, [email protected]
Biely Vah LTER site:
temperate coniferous forest
data on biodiversity
meteorological elements
soil characteristics
structure of vegetation
Contact person: Julius Oszlányi, Institute of Landscape Ecology SAS, [email protected]
Polana LTER site:
temperate mixed mountaineous forest
data on biodiversity
structure of vegetation
primary productivity
meteorological elements
soil characteristics
Contact person: Julius Oszlányi, Institute of Landscape Ecology, SAS, [email protected]
A Regional Monitoring Network for
ozone, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide concentrations and their effect on forest was established in the Carpathian Mountains. Czech Republic, oland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraina are involved.
Project leaders: A. Bytnerowicz (USDA) and K. Grodzinska (Institute of Botany, Polish Acad. Sci.)
Contact person:Krystyna Grodzinska, [email protected]
The status of the data at the different sites is very different. Many of the data only exist in the form of publications or are only stored on the computers of the individual scientists. In a few cases the data are organized into accessible databases.
Information management levels are also very different between sites. The Krkonose (Czech Republic) site has had a four-membered management team for the last four years. However most sites lack human and financial resources preventing the development of information management. A sound initiative of providing special grants to be used in developing database from existing “latent” long-term data was launched by the Czech Republic in 1999 and was followed by Hungary in 2000.
Two main problems have to be overcomed if advances are to be made:
i. Attracting informatic experts away from industry and economy, where they earn much higher salaries, to research institutions.
ii. Scientists are expected to produce scientific publications and not databases. There is, therefore a need to change the approach and attitudes of scientific assessment. Financial backing is also needed to overcome these problems. Similar based workshops will help change scientific approaches and attitudes.
