NCEA Air Quality

Research Objectives

Forest Research’s Integrated forest monitoring programme is the UK contribution to the European International Co-operative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP forests). This project expanded the variables monitored to include gaseous O₃, NO₂, and NH₃, particularly focussing on gaseous air pollutants which previously were part of the ICP Forests Level II monitoring in the UK but ceased in 2005. ICP Forests monitoring activities contribute to aspects of relevance for forest policy, generating harmonised data across Europe to understand:  

• effects of climate change on forests – e.g. effects on biodiversity, physiological processes, foliar nutrition and soil nutrient cycling, 
• long-term forest responses to changes in air pollution, 
• forests’ contribution to climate change mitigation. 

ICP Forests data can be used to calibrate ecosystem biochemical models, assess the performance of critical load models, and inform sustainable forest management practices. Monitoring data from the sites will also be set within the findings of the European monitoring schemes and contribute to annual reports on forest condition across Europe. 

The key aims of the NCEA Air quality project were:

• To collect high-quality air pollution datasets as part of the ICP Forests Long term Intensive monitoring (Level II network)   

• To analyse long term monitoring data of forest ecosystems to inform the evaluation of the air pollution forest mitigation strategies and monitor the impacts of air pollution on forest ecosystems.  

• To use long term forest monitoring datasets to develop and test models and tools for air pollution abatement by forest at site specific, but also national scales. 

• To use National Forest Inventory data to develop parameters for air pollution models and tools for optimization of new forest planting for air pollution mitigation but also for existing woodland mitigation potential.