Occult deposition
In 1999 the equipment of Zöbelboden (ATO1) was completed by the installafion of an acfive doud water sampling system induding the permanent monitoring of the liquid water content (LWC) of clouds and fog. Occult deposition (or doud water deposifion) is known to contnbute significantiy to the overail input espedally in mounta;nous and alpme areas As occult deposition strongly depends on specific site condffions it shows a pronounced temporal and spatial variation both in terms of quantlty and quahty Therefore it is indispensable for ecosystem momtonng programmes aimmg at the quantitafive momtonng of deposition to carry outrn situ measurements. Even though a continuous and permanentmonitoringof occult depositionmightbe too expensive, valuable information about the proportion of occult deposifion in the total deposition can be expected ftom measuring campaigns over a limited period of time. Ffrst resuits show that concentrations in doud water samples at ATO1 are approx. ten times higher than in bulk deposition sampies or throughfall. Modeffing of occult deposition at similar altitudes in the Northern Limestone Alps and based on similar concenfrations gave evidence of a plus of 20-40% in N- and S-deposiffon due to occult deposifion (Kalima, Zambo andPuxbaum, 1998).
Tracer experiments
The Zöbelboden-catchment is situated on karstffied bedrock (dolomite, limestone), which means ffiat this orographicafly defined watershed of the Zöbelgraben creek is most probably different ftom its hydrologicai watershed. Since 1994 an extensive spring monitoring has been carried out ali around the mountain ridge with the Zöbelboden catchment (89ha; elevation range: 500-1000m) at its easternmost part
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(Figure 6.1). Water chemical and physical parameters of 104 springs were surveyed and gave a rough idea of thedefactorunoff condffions (proposing the existence of 3 watertables and complex draining schemes).
In order to explain processes and mass balances at piot level it was of urgent interest to clear up especially the water paths from the intensive piots at ATOt In July 1999 immediately before heavy rainfalls three different colour tracers were inserted (into holes reaching down to the solid bedrock) at three locations on the extended plateau of ATO1. Since then a selected group of springs and creeks in and around AT01 has been continuously observerved for the appearance of tracers.
Within only 6 hours the colour applied close to intensive piot 1 (plateau-center) reappeared 500 metres lower and south of the orographical catchment in a strong and well defined spring. It took 12 hours to detect the second colour (plateau-east) m a spring east of the orographical catchment. Unifi now (May 2000) there has been no trace of the third colour inserted in the northern part of the plateau. None of the colours were mixed in the observed springs and none appeared in Zöbelgraben creek.
MORIS (Monitoring in Research Information System)
0
MORIS is an information system designed for longterm monitoring and comprehensive ecosystem research programmes.
Originally, the Federal Environment Agency of Austria designed the first version of MORIS in order to depict ail data denved ftom the ecosystem-monitoring activities of IM in Austria (ali media, ali parameters, ali time intervais, ali metainformation, interactive GIS-link). Since the design of MORIS was also of scientific interest for forest ecosystem research programmes run at the University for Agricuhural Sciences, the Ministry of Science, Research and Transport decided Figure. 6.! ATO 1 —orogrnphic& catchment Zöbelboden (from the north)
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to parfidpate in the implementation of MORIS. Therefore MORIS was adopted and further developed according to the requirements of the Research Programme FIW and Special Research Programme ‘Restaurafion of Forest Ecosystems’.
The basic concept of MORIS is putting strong emphasis on providing notonly sheer values but also information on the methodological and spatial design used in gathering these data (primary metainformation). As object oriented analysis and design methods were applied, the main elements of MORIS are
O objects (types: spatial objects such as geode%cally surveyed and marked points in the field; inves%gated media such as soil, springs; auxiliary objects such as measuring devices; spedes...),
O properties (variables such as “N03” or “being installed at”) and
• meffiods(sampling.analysis...) which are sequentially combined to methodological designs.
Ali objects and properifes can be typffied and hierarchicaliy classified and related to each other Any kmd of relaton between mstances of dasses can be defined, e.g. a defined spring (the medium) can be related to a spatial object (having coordinates) for exact Iocalisation. Theabstractproperty (e.g. variable “nitrate”) is further specified by the apphed methodological design to descnbe a defined parameter. Parameters and the mentioned object-object-combinafions or single objects are forming “datapoints” which finally canbe given values.
Moreoverailcentral tabies of the basic modules of the ER-diagram oifer links to modules adm;mstratmg secondary metainformation such as “actors” (persons, teams and institutes mvolved m any of the depicted processes), “archive” (any kmd of linked informafion either soft- or hardcopy), “projects” (compounds of acfivffies in a broad sense: projects to be managed, scientific subprogrammes, measufing campaigns or mere sets of object-property-combinafions), “standards” and
“thresholds” (activity-/value-/meffiod-related thresholds, standards, laws, legal obligations).
Srnce June 1999 MORIS has been implemented by an external contractor as a client/server application with PowerBuilder and ORACLE as RDBMS. Intensive tesfing ofthebeta-version started in 1999 and wffl confinue unifi the end of 2000.
Ongoing actMties
The monitoring activffies at the Ausffian IM site Zöbelboden (ATO1) were success fully contmued in 1999 (Table 6lon page 42)
References
Kalina, M., Zambo, E. and Puxbaum,H. 199$. Assessment of Wet, Dry and Occult Deposifion of Suifur and Nitrogen at an Alpine site. Environ, Sä.&Pollut, Res., Spedal Issue No.;, 53-58.
Mirti, M. 1997. MORIS-Aninformafionsystem designed for longterm momtonng and com prehensive ecosystem research programmes. In: InternationalMeeting for Specialists inForest Ecosystems, Extended Abstracts. Forest Department of Bozen: 10-1997.
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Table6.1 The monftoring activities at the Austrian IM site Zöbelboden(ATOI)
P8 Programme Sector acro
Subprogramme
1992
1
19931
19941
1995 1996 19971
1998 1999P8 1: Ctimate,Air
PB 3:Bioindication-Plants Inventory of piants
Vegetation-intensive plots
Vegetation structure and species cover Trunk epiphytes- mosses
Trunk epiphytes-lichens
Aeriai green aigae AL
1
P64: Biomonitoring-Plants
Metal chemistry of mosses MC 1
Foliagechemistry EC
P85;Forest Habitates
Forest damage (remote sensing) ED Tree bioelements and tree indication Bi Eorest Damage Monitoring System (WBS) EE
Deer browsing
xx
P8 6: Geotogy,Karsthydrology,Waterchentry
Geological map BS 1 1
Spring water chemistry GW
Runoff water chemistry RW —,
Karsthydrology-Tracer Experiment XX P87: Soil
Soil chemistry 5
Soi! water chemistry SW —
Microbiai decomposition MB
Soi! moisture XX
P8 8: Infrastructure —
Power supply yy 1 1
s s
Datatransmission yy 1 —1 1
PS 9:Analysis, 00 —
•_1__—
— — — —P8 10:Data management, GIS
Maps MP
s s. s s a;
Informationsystem
zz
1, 1 1 1 1P611;Assessments,Synopsis — —
P612; Projectmanagement —
P6 13;Publicrelations, Reporting — —
P814: Cooperations, Networking —
Treaties iandowner ZZ 1 1
Austrian NetworkEnvironmentalResearch EE 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Ministery for Science and Research
-Complementaryresearch activities EE 1 1 S 1
Limestone National Park: Sampling, Weekiy
fieldwork
zz
- O 1 - 1 --O 1 OP6 15:Bioindication-Animais
Inventory of birds BB
Inventory of smaiirodents IR
Hydrobioiogyof streams RB
i basic inventories/infrasructure
• continuous monitoring/measurements
annuallyrepeated activities