Swedish Forest Soil Inventory
The Swedish Forest Soil Inventory (MI) carries out long-term monitoring on the permanent sample plots of the Swedish National Forest Inventory (NFI). The two programmes are joined in the cooperation within the Swedish National Inventory of Forests (RIS). However, each programme has its own scientific responsibility while field work is integrated.
The sample plots of the NFI are laid out objectively and systematically, covering the whole country every year, except for the high mountain area in the NW. Thus, forming a good statistical representation of Sweden, the plots provide good possibilities for large scale site mapping and environmental monitoring.
Historic review
During the period 1923-1982 all plots in the NFI were temporary. In the years 1961-1975 a first forest soil inventory was carried out. However, in the 1983 the design was changed and the NFI began to use both temporary and permanent plots. This meant that the NFI became an even better tool for environmental monitoring, plots are prefered for verification of changes over time. In order to make use of these great possibilities, a cooperation between the department of Forest Resource Managment (the NFI) and the department of Soil and Environment was started (both departments at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU), called the National Survey of Forest Soils and Vegetation (SK). During the period 1983-1987 the ordinary NFI field teams were complemented with an extra person who carried out the SK and under this five year period about 23,500 permanent plots were established.
The content included in MI are in brief overview
- A general site description of the plot and the site location, including e.g. general hydrological conditions, typical soil depth etc.
- A determination of soil physical conditions and soil types.
- Sampling of organic and mineral soil horizons for subsequent chemical analyses.
After quality control and additions of data from chemical analyses, all data are put in TAXBAS, the general database of the MI- and NFI-program.
In short the MI-database includes; soil moisture conditions, soil parent material, soil texture and soil profiles. Chemical data of soil samples from different layers are available.
The variables can easily be combined with the NFI data of forest stands from the same plots.
The "soil expert" in the field crew also carry out a description of vegetation (the species composition of the bottom- and field-layers and an inventory of pendulous lichens), with emphasis on non-timber aspects. NFI has nowadays the scientific responsibility for this biodiversity content.
Repeated inventory
In 1993 the first remeasurements started, ten years after the first SK measurements. All the 23,500 plots were remeasured until year 2002. A second reiteration started 2003 and are intended to be finished in the year 2012.
Results
Results from National Survey of Forest Soils and Vegetation (SK) and Swedish Forest Soil Inventory (
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