2021 > 03

Dates of e.g. emerging buds and blooming are noted weekly for plants (following the national system Svenska fenologinätverket), and for birds the first observation of each migratory species (ca. 60) within the research area has been noted annually since 1982. Thanks to the rapid disappearance of most of the snow, the spring survey of wildlife pellets (six herbivore species) and habitats could also be started this week. Among the external projects on large carnivores, it is now season for marking wolves (Canis lupus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo).
The sampling for the international Lifeplan project (see below) has been initiated, and so far, the wildlife cameras and audio recorders are up and running in the plot at Grimsö. The Malaise trap and Cyclone sampler will be deployed later this spring when conditions are more suitable.

Lifeplan
Lifeplan is a global biodiversity project that will map life on Earth through DNA sampling, sound and image data, as well as traditional methods such as Malaise traps. Besides Grimsö, SITES stations in Asa, Erken, Skogaryd, and Svartberget as well as the associated station Bolmen, participate in Lifeplan.
Read more about Lifeplan at the University of Helsinki.

The aim of the EMERGE (EMergent Ecosystem Responses to ChanGE) project is to improve the understanding of how thawing permafrost systems respond to climate change and subsequently cause change, with a focus on carbon cycling and microbial populations and communities. The EMERGE project is multi-disciplinary, spanning across biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, physiology, ecology, evolution, and ecosystem science.
The resultant framework will also provide a foundation for assessing microbial change in other ecosystems.
EMERGE is lead by Virginia Rich (Univ. of Ohio), Ruth Varner (Univ. of New Hampshire, presently at Stockholm University), and Scott Saleska (Univ. of Arizona), and is a continuation of and development from the IsoGenie project.
The Stordalen mire is located approximately 10 km east of the research station in Abisko, close to Lake Torneträsk. The site has a long history of climate and vegetation research, going back to the 1970s.
Abisko-Stordalen is the location of an ICOS Ecosystem station.
Stordalen and the IsoGenie project was recently featured in a Nature news article: How microbes in permafrost could trigger a massive carbon bomb.
Both Nina Kirchner and Per Holmlund are researchers at the Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University. Nina Kirchner is an associate professor of glaciology, and Director of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research. Her research focuses on prediction and reconstruction of future and past ice sheet and glacier dynamics in the Arctic and the Antarctic, where she has also conducted fieldwork. Per Holmlund is a professor in glaciology with an emphasis on climate and a long record of work in high alpine areas and in polar regions. He was the station director of Tarfala from 1996 to 2004.
SITES would like to thank Ninis for all her contributions as director of Tarfala, and looks forward to her continued engagement at Tarfala Research Station and in the SITES network! SITES warmly welcomes Nina and Per and looks forward to working with them both.
An upcoming opportunity to hear more about Tarfala is at the vEGU2021 meeting (April 19-30), where several talks focusing on research conducted at and around Tarfala Research Station will be presented!
The research engineer will support and conduct field measurements, including maintenance of equipment and installations, such as in situ autonomous sensor systems and experimental facilities and data management (e.g. QA/QC). Another important task is the coordination of a distributed mesocosm experiment within AQUACOSM-plus that is planned for 2022 at several SITES stations.
Application is due by 15 April 2021.
More information, including a link to the application system can be found here:

At Svartberget the summer season has not begun, but various calibration activities are about to start, which can be regarded as an early indication of spring. For example, carbon dioxide sensors will soon be prepared as part of the SITES Water lake greenhouse gas measurement program.
During the workshop, there were discussions about new regulations regarding unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), the experiences of the Postex-system (used to determine the geographical position of e.g. trees), the Field-data-system software (used to collected data from instruments) and the Freedata-software for measurement of field trials. The collection of phenology data and the outcome and demand for it was also covered, as well as the databases administered by the Unit for field-based forest research (for example the field-trial database, Silvaboreal and the Safe deposit).
The workshop was much appreciated and will be followed by shorter meetings during the spring, focused on, for example, the outcome of the external environmental audit held in February, water sampling protocols and terrestrial laser scanning.
Text: Johan Westin.

The multispectral sensors used in SITES Spectral are regularly calibrated, to monitor their performance and detect possible misfunctioning. By training the personnel at each station, the time the sensors are not collecting data is reduced and the frequency of calibrations can be increased to once a year. Therefore, SITES recently organized a calibration workshop for personnel at the stations.
The workshop had several aims. First, to share knowledge among the stations and technical stuff and strengthen skills within SITES Spectral. Second, to improve the efficiency of data collection and quality. Last but not least, it is positive for the staff at the stations to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire data generating process.
During the workshop, there were discussions about the necessary equipment, the best time and place to perform the calibration, the calibration process itself, and report of results on a calibration certificate. It was an interactive conversation where all participants shared their knowledge and experience for creating the best conditions for reinforcing the fundamentals needed to perform the calibration at their station.
Text: Virginia Garcia.
2021 > 03

Dates of e.g. emerging buds and blooming are noted weekly for plants (following the national system Svenska fenologinätverket), and for birds the first observation of each migratory species (ca. 60) within the research area has been noted annually since 1982. Thanks to the rapid disappearance of most of the snow, the spring survey of wildlife pellets (six herbivore species) and habitats could also be started this week. Among the external projects on large carnivores, it is now season for marking wolves (Canis lupus) and wolverines (Gulo gulo).
The sampling for the international Lifeplan project (see below) has been initiated, and so far, the wildlife cameras and audio recorders are up and running in the plot at Grimsö. The Malaise trap and Cyclone sampler will be deployed later this spring when conditions are more suitable.

Lifeplan
Lifeplan is a global biodiversity project that will map life on Earth through DNA sampling, sound and image data, as well as traditional methods such as Malaise traps. Besides Grimsö, SITES stations in Asa, Erken, Skogaryd, and Svartberget as well as the associated station Bolmen, participate in Lifeplan.
Read more about Lifeplan at the University of Helsinki.

The aim of the EMERGE (EMergent Ecosystem Responses to ChanGE) project is to improve the understanding of how thawing permafrost systems respond to climate change and subsequently cause change, with a focus on carbon cycling and microbial populations and communities. The EMERGE project is multi-disciplinary, spanning across biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, physiology, ecology, evolution, and ecosystem science.
The resultant framework will also provide a foundation for assessing microbial change in other ecosystems.
EMERGE is lead by Virginia Rich (Univ. of Ohio), Ruth Varner (Univ. of New Hampshire, presently at Stockholm University), and Scott Saleska (Univ. of Arizona), and is a continuation of and development from the IsoGenie project.
The Stordalen mire is located approximately 10 km east of the research station in Abisko, close to Lake Torneträsk. The site has a long history of climate and vegetation research, going back to the 1970s.
Abisko-Stordalen is the location of an ICOS Ecosystem station.
Stordalen and the IsoGenie project was recently featured in a Nature news article: How microbes in permafrost could trigger a massive carbon bomb.
Both Nina Kirchner and Per Holmlund are researchers at the Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University. Nina Kirchner is an associate professor of glaciology, and Director of the Bolin Centre for Climate Research. Her research focuses on prediction and reconstruction of future and past ice sheet and glacier dynamics in the Arctic and the Antarctic, where she has also conducted fieldwork. Per Holmlund is a professor in glaciology with an emphasis on climate and a long record of work in high alpine areas and in polar regions. He was the station director of Tarfala from 1996 to 2004.
SITES would like to thank Ninis for all her contributions as director of Tarfala, and looks forward to her continued engagement at Tarfala Research Station and in the SITES network! SITES warmly welcomes Nina and Per and looks forward to working with them both.
An upcoming opportunity to hear more about Tarfala is at the vEGU2021 meeting (April 19-30), where several talks focusing on research conducted at and around Tarfala Research Station will be presented!
The research engineer will support and conduct field measurements, including maintenance of equipment and installations, such as in situ autonomous sensor systems and experimental facilities and data management (e.g. QA/QC). Another important task is the coordination of a distributed mesocosm experiment within AQUACOSM-plus that is planned for 2022 at several SITES stations.
Application is due by 15 April 2021.
More information, including a link to the application system can be found here:

At Svartberget the summer season has not begun, but various calibration activities are about to start, which can be regarded as an early indication of spring. For example, carbon dioxide sensors will soon be prepared as part of the SITES Water lake greenhouse gas measurement program.
During the workshop, there were discussions about new regulations regarding unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), the experiences of the Postex-system (used to determine the geographical position of e.g. trees), the Field-data-system software (used to collected data from instruments) and the Freedata-software for measurement of field trials. The collection of phenology data and the outcome and demand for it was also covered, as well as the databases administered by the Unit for field-based forest research (for example the field-trial database, Silvaboreal and the Safe deposit).
The workshop was much appreciated and will be followed by shorter meetings during the spring, focused on, for example, the outcome of the external environmental audit held in February, water sampling protocols and terrestrial laser scanning.
Text: Johan Westin.

The multispectral sensors used in SITES Spectral are regularly calibrated, to monitor their performance and detect possible misfunctioning. By training the personnel at each station, the time the sensors are not collecting data is reduced and the frequency of calibrations can be increased to once a year. Therefore, SITES recently organized a calibration workshop for personnel at the stations.
The workshop had several aims. First, to share knowledge among the stations and technical stuff and strengthen skills within SITES Spectral. Second, to improve the efficiency of data collection and quality. Last but not least, it is positive for the staff at the stations to have a comprehensive understanding of the entire data generating process.
During the workshop, there were discussions about the necessary equipment, the best time and place to perform the calibration, the calibration process itself, and report of results on a calibration certificate. It was an interactive conversation where all participants shared their knowledge and experience for creating the best conditions for reinforcing the fundamentals needed to perform the calibration at their station.
Text: Virginia Garcia.
Latest News
- Research Infrastructures are also Educational Infrastructures
- Master Thesis at SITES Bolmen – Studying the brownification of inflows to Lake Bolmen
- September Data in Focus: SITES AquaNet - an open infrastructure to run mesocosm experiments across …
- Re-wetting area in Skogaryd mapped by SITES Spectral drones
- New Eddy Covariance flux tower installment at SITES Röbäcksdalen station
- August Data in Focus: SITES Spectral drone flight over Lönnstorp Station agricultural fields
- AquaNet summer experiments are wrapping up
- Evaluation of camera trap designs – a joint SITES and FoMA project at Grimsö
- July Data in Focus: SITES AquaNet at associated Bolmen Research Station
- Raising the mast at Skogaryd's Stordalen for continued measurement of CO2 exchange between a yo…