The wetland mass and energy exchange measurements – case study Rzecin, Poland

It is estimated that one third of terrestrial carbon is located in the organic soils of the northern hemisphere. These are considered as typical for wetlands and peatlands. The organic soils are a result of the process during which plant debris decomposition is reduced substantially under anaerobic (wet) conditions. Low temperatures, typical for the northern hemisphere, strengthen this conservation process. Such feature of these ecosystems causes their high sensitivity to both: soil water level and temperature changes. The lowering of soil water level allows the entering of oxygen into soil profile. The aerobic conditions cause decomposition of organic matter and carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere. Scientists from many countries investigate wetland carbon exchange processes and there are several sites where the measurements are carried out permanently. The wetland measuring sites were incorporated into the European carbon dioxide observation network within the framework of CarboEurope IP project. This network operates until now. The first Polish measuring station at Rzecin wetland has been running since the end of 2003. Rzecin village is located in Western Poland about 70 km north of Poznan city. The measurements of CO2 exchange at this site are conducted with of the eddy covariance and the static chamber techniques. Both methods are recently most commonly applied in this type of ecological surveys. Simultaneously, several additional ecological (e.g. LAI) and meteorological (e.g. air temperature) measurements are carried out at Rzecin site. The power supply is designed to maintain the system running up to 24 hours of power break. The procedures of quality control and flux calculations are carried out by the set of field computers. The obtained data are transferred to the European database at Tuscia Univesity, Italy, where they are available for international scientific community. The main goals of this poster is to present Rzecin station structure and operation, as well as some initial study results.