Monitoring the Effects of Air-Quality on Forests: An Overview of the Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest ICP-Level II Site

Abstract

The Sierra Ancha International Cooperative Program on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests study site or (SAEF-ICP II) is part of an international network of cooperative forest monitoring sites spread throughout Europe and the United States. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe established the ICP II network in 1985 to monitor long-term effects of transboundary air pollution. The Sierra Ancha Experimental Forest was chosen to be a part the U.S.’s network because it is the southernmost Experimental Forest in the contiguous U.S., and because it is downwind from a major metropolitan area, Phoenix, Arizona. The site monitoring includes forest overstory growth, crown condition, foliar chemistry, understory vegetation, litterfall, soil chemistry meteorology, ozone, and deposition. This paper provides an overview of the ICP forest network, and discusses the research currently underway at the Sierra Ancha ICP II site. An overview of the challenges encountered while implementing ICP Level II monitoring will also be included.