Monitoring of small forested catchments (GEOMON)

A network of 14 small headwater catchments was established in 1994 for studying the effects of acidification, eutrophication and global impact of climate change. Small catchments ranging from tenth to several hundred hectares in size represent an ideal research sites for evaluating of hydrological and hydrochemical balances. Unified methodology - continuous flow measurements in the closure profile, a monthly chemical analysis of precipitation, throughfall and runoff – are used to calculate the flow of ecologically important ingredients (nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon, aluminum, base cations, etc.). Currently we have 20 years of continuous monitoring of mass balances of ecologically important elements in a monthly/weekly time resolution.