Long-term observational records from water balance stations in the former Soviet Union are a rich source of information for land surface model validation in framework of PILPS Phase 2. These records include intensive hydrological and meteorological observations at small catchments with different topography and vegetation. The Valdai research station started its observational program in 1933. Available data sets for three small catchments at Valdai, a grassland, an old forest, and a growing forest, cover the period from 1960 to 1990. One of these catchments, Usadievski (grassland), has been used for PILPS 2(d). There is a significant difference between the hydrometeorological regime of Usadievski and Tayezhnyi (old forest). The growing forest offers a unique test of reforestation scenarios using land surface schemes.
Two other data collections from the water balance stations of Podmoskovnaya (forest zone) and Kamennaya Steppe (steppe zone), each with several catchments, are described for the first time. They are also available for PILPS Phase 2 intercomparisons.