The Krycklan Catchment Study

The Krycklan Catchment Study (KCS) is a long-term, interdisciplinary research infrastructure located in northern Sweden, approximately 50 km northwest of Umeå. Encompassing an area of around 68 km², the catchment spans a diverse mosaic of boreal forest, wetlands, lakes, and managed land, offering a representative landscape for the boreal biome.

The catchment is underlain by glacial tills and bedrock of Precambrian origin, with thin soils and podzolic profiles dominating upland areas. The climate is subarctic, with long, cold winters and short, mild summers. Annual precipitation averages around 600–800 mm, and snowmelt is the primary driver of spring runoff.

Krycklan is globally recognized for its integrated monitoring of hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecosystem processes, with high-resolution data collected from more than 13 gauged sub-catchments, soil moisture and temperature sensors, atmospheric deposition collectors, and isotope tracing. The site is particularly valuable for studying climate change impacts, forest management effects, carbon and nitrogen cycling, and the interactions between terrestrial and aquatic systems.

The Krycklan Catchment is part of multiple international networks, including ICOS, LTER-Europe, and eLTER, and serves as a model system for linking long-term ecosystem monitoring with experimental and modeling approaches to inform sustainable land and water management in boreal regions.