Drained birch swamp forest
Agali I, Estonia (2017-2019)
Site Description
The Agali I site is a hemiboreal riparian forest located near the Kalli River in Agali Village, Tartu County, Estonia, within the Lake Peipsi Lowland. The area was formerly agricultural land and is now dominated by a 40-year-old grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) forest of Filipendula type. The terrain is flat, slightly inclined (1%) toward the river, with an average elevation of 32 m a.s.l., formed from the bottom of former periglacial lake systems.
The soil is classified as Gleyic Luvisol, with a raw humus layer 15–20 cm thick. The upper 10 cm of soil contains significantly higher concentrations of total carbon (3.8%), total nitrogen (0.33%), nitrate, ammonium, calcium, and magnesium compared to the 20 cm depth. The region has a hemiboreal climate with a long-term annual precipitation of about 650 mm, mean temperatures of 17 °C in July and –6.7 °C in January, and a growing season lasting 175–180 days from mid-April to October.
The forest stand has an average height of 17.5 m, mean stem diameter of 15.6 cm, and a growing stock of approximately 245 m³ ha⁻¹. The understory vegetation is diverse, including bird cherry (Prunus padus L.), meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim.), and raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.), along with herbs such as Aegopodium podagraria L., Cirsium oleraceum (L.) Scop, Geum rivale L., and Crepis paludosa (L.) Moench. Shrubs like Frangula alnus L. and Daphne mezereum L. are present, as well as young trees of grey alder and bird cherry. The moss layer is dominated by species such as Climacium dendroides (Hedw.) F. Weber & D. Mohr, Plagiomnium spp., and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus (Hedw.) Warnst.
Related Publications
- Mander, Ü. et al. (2021). Forest Canopy Mitigates Soil N2O Emission during Hot Moments. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. DOI
- Mander, Ü. et al. (2022). Long-term dynamics of soil, tree stem and ecosystem methane fluxes. Science of the Total Environment. DOI
Available Data
GHG observations & Meteo (PANGAEA): Download Data
Amplicon-based sequencing: View on EBI
Riparian forest on gley soil. Phase I monitoring (2017-2019) focusing on GHG fluxes from soil, stems, and ecosystem (eddy covariance).
Site Description
The Agali I site is a hemiboreal riparian forest located near the Kalli River in Agali Village, Tartu County, Estonia, within the Lake Peipsi Lowland. The area was formerly agricultural land and is now dominated by a 40-year-old grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) forest of Filipendula type. The terrain is flat, slightly inclined (1%) toward the river, with an average elevation of 32 m a.s.l., formed from the bottom of former periglacial lake systems.
The soil is classified as Gleyic Luvisol, with a raw humus layer 15–20 cm thick. The upper 10 cm of soil contains significantly higher concentrations of total carbon (3.8%), total nitrogen (0.33%), nitrate, ammonium, calcium, and magnesium compared to the 20 cm depth. The region has a hemiboreal climate with a long-term annual precipitation of about 650 mm, mean temperatures of 17 °C in July and –6.7 °C in January, and a growing season lasting 175–180 days from mid-April to October.
The forest stand has an average height of 17.5 m, mean stem diameter of 15.6 cm, and a growing stock of approximately 245 m³ ha⁻¹. The understory vegetation is diverse, including bird cherry (Prunus padus L.), meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria (L.) Maxim.), and raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.), along with herbs such as Aegopodium podagraria L., Cirsium oleraceum (L.) Scop, Geum rivale L., and Crepis paludosa (L.) Moench. Shrubs like Frangula alnus L. and Daphne mezereum L. are present, as well as young trees of grey alder and bird cherry. The moss layer is dominated by species such as Climacium dendroides (Hedw.) F. Weber & D. Mohr, Plagiomnium spp., and Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus (Hedw.) Warnst.
Related Publications
- Mander, Ü. et al. (2021). Forest Canopy Mitigates Soil N2O Emission during Hot Moments. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. DOI
- Mander, Ü. et al. (2022). Long-term dynamics of soil, tree stem and ecosystem methane fluxes. Science of the Total Environment. DOI
Available Data
GHG observations & Meteo (PANGAEA): Download Data
Amplicon-based sequencing: View on EBI