7. Monitoring the impact of air pollution on terrestrial ecosystems: the CON.ECO.FOR. and NEC networks
Course Objectives
To provide information to third countries on issues related to networks monitoring the effects of pollutants on terrestrial ecosystems, in line with international standards and the positive experience of the Italian network coordinated in Italy by CUFA.
Programme
This course aims to provide cognitive tools, to be useful for effective monitoring of the health status of forest ecosystems. The purpose is to share the historical evolution of forest ecosystem monitoring since the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP), signed in 1979 in Geneva. This convention has led to the development of International Cooperative Programmes (Icps) divided into thematic areas, including forests (ICP Forests). The International Cooperative Programme on Assessing and Monitoring the Effects of Air Pollution on Forests conducts surveys on the condition of forests in Europe.
The course will illustrate two types of networks differing by plot detection, based on: investigated parameters, sampling frequency and selection methods of studied areas and monitored targets. Extensive monitoring, known as Level I, which is carried out on a large-scale annual basis, observes the vitality of trees through the assessment of crown conditions. Intensive monitoring, known as Level II, is implemented in permanent areas across Europe to study ecological interactions between structural and functional components of forest ecosystems and large-scale pressure and change factors (air pollution, climate change, changes in biodiversity levels).
The thirty-year experience gained in the State Forestry Corps and currently in the CUFA, on monitoring the health status of forest ecosystems, has also been effectively integrated into the objectives identified by Directive (EU) 2016/2284 “National Emission Ceiling” (NEC) on the reduction of national emissions of certain air pollutants. For the implementation of this European Directive, transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree 30 May 2018 n. 81, the “NEC Network Italy” was established, to monitor the impact of air pollution on ecosystems. The Ministry of Ecological Transition is responsible for this and the CUFA coordinates it.
The course describes the activities that the CUFA carries out for the coordination of the NEC network and the main results.
In this context, the strategic importance of the integration and sharing of data obtained from CON.ECO.FOR. and NEC networks will be analysed. This will allow for the accomplishment of the important objectives identified by the European Green Deal instrument, which has for the first time introduced a binding act for all EU countries aimed at achieving the neutrality of pollutant emissions by 2050.