Bioclimatology

Hainich (Thuringia, Germany)


Location

Fluxnet-IDLocation Temperature (annual mean) Precipitation (annual) Elevation a.s.l. Ecosystem
DE-Hai Thuringia 8.4°C 744 mm 440 m Unmanaged mixed beech forest

The Hainich measurement station is located in the Hainich National Park near Eisenach (Thuringia) in a near-natural mixed beech forest with trees up to 250 years old. Dominant tree species are European beech (Fagus sylvatica), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), and sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus). The herbal layer is mainly composed of wild garlic (Allium ursinum), dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis), and wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa). The trees reach heights of up to 35 m, and the mean Plant Area Index (PAI) in summer is 5.1 m² m-². The soil is a fertile Cambisol on limestone with a pH-value of 6.

The area was used for military purposes from 1965 to 1997, has been part of the national park since 1997, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. The measurement station has existed since 1999 and was operated by the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena until 2010.

Since 1999, in addition to meteorological variables, fluxes of CO₂, water, and energy between the forest and the atmosphere have been measured using the eddy covariance method. Currently, two eddy covariance systems are installed: a) Metek uSonic-3 Cage MP ultrasonic anemometer with Licor LI-7000 and LI-7200 gas analyzers (44 m), and b) Gill HS-50 ultrasonic anemometer with Licor LI-7200 gas analyzer (44.5 m).

Turm_mitBeschriftung_Zeichenfläche_komplett_300dpi

Sketch of the tower and instrumentation.


Measured variable Measurement height Data frequency (minutes)Measurement period
Momentum 44 m, 44.5 m 301999 - Today
Sensible and latent heat flux 44 m, 44.5 m 301999 - Today
Ecosystem CO₂ exchange 44 m, 44.5 m 301999 - Today
Water vapor & carbon dioxide concentration 44 m, 30 m, 20 m, 10 m, 5 m, 2 m, 1 m, 0.5 m, 0.2 m 102001 - Today
Incoming & outgoing long- and shortwave radiation 43 m 101999 - Today
Incoming & outgoing photosynthetically active radiation 43 m 101999 - Today
Incoming direct & diffuse shortwave radiation 45.5 m 102012 - Today
Incoming photosynthetically active radiation below canopy 0.5 m 102020 - Today
Air pressure 44 m 101999 - Today
Air temperature 44.5 m, 40 m, 35 m, 32 m, 20 m, 10 m, 2 m 101999 - Today (some heights since 2001)
Relative humidity 44.5 m 101999 - Today
Wind speed & wind direction 46 m 101999 - Today
Precipitation 1 m 101999 - Today
Phenology photos 40.5 m 302000 - Today
Canopy surface temperature 41 m 5 seconds2022 - Today
Soil heat flux -0.05 m (5 sensors) 101999 - Today
Soil moisture (6 profiles) -0.05 m, -0.08 m, -0.01 m, -0.16 m, -0.2 m, -0.3 m, -0.32 m, -0.4 m, -0.5 m 102000 - Today (additional sensors since 2022)
Soil temperature (3 profiles) -0.02 m, -0.05 m, -0.15 m, -0.3 m, -0.4 m, -0.5 m 102000 - Today (additional sensors since 2022)
Soil respiration 0 m (5 chambers) 302016 - Today
Stem temperatures (3 trees) -0.03 m, -0.15 m, -0.27 m, -0.285 m, -0.39 m 102002 - Today
Leaf area index 2 m approx. monthly2002 - Today
Measured variable Measurement height Data frequency (minutes)Measurement periodCooperation with
Canopy surface temperature 45 m 12024 - TodayASTeRN
Photosynthetically active radiation (incoming and outgoing) 0 m, 1.2 m, 43 m 52023 - TodayGBOV
Hemispheric photos 1.5 m 302019 - TodayGBOV
Optical vegetation depth 45.5 m 2 m2023 - TodayUniversity of Jena & GFZ Potsdam
Stem growth 1.3 m Yearly; 10 minutes2003 - TodayMartina Mund; Christian Ammer
Leaf fall 0 m Yearly2003 - TodayMartina Mund
Sap flow 1.3 m 102022 - TodayChristian Ammer
Stem water potential 0 m; 1.3 m, 20.0 m 102023 - TodayUniversity of Jena
Soil water potential -0.07 m; -0.25 m 102023 - TodayUniversity of Jena
Soil samples One-time2004Marion Schrumpf
Forest inventory Every 5 - 7 yearsMartina Mund

Data 2000 - 2023

Daten from Hainich can be downloaded from ICOS or FLUXNET.


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  • Mund M, Herbst M, Knohl A, Matthaus B, Schumacher J, Schall P, Siebicke L, Tamrakar R, Ammer C (2020). It is not just a 'trade-off': indications for sink- and source-limitation to vegetative and regenerative growth in an old-growth beech forest. New Phytologist 226, 111-125. doi: 10.1111/nph.16408
  • Tamrakar R, Rayment MB, Moyano F, Mund M, Knohl A (2018). Implications of structural diversity for seasonal and annual carbon dioxide fluxes in two temperate deciduous forests. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 263, 465-476. doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.08.027.
  • Herbst M, Mund M, Tamrakar R, Knohl A (2015). Differences in carbon uptake and water use between a managed and an unmanaged beech forest in central Germany. Forest Ecology and Management 355, 101-108. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.034.
  • Mund M, Kutsch WL, Wirth C, Kahl T, Knohl A, Skomarkova MV, Schulze ED (2010). The influence of climate and fructification on the inter-annual variability of stem growth and net primary productivity in an old-growth, mixed beech forest. Tree Physiology 30, 689-704. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpq027.
  • Kutsch WL, Persson T, Schrumpf M, Moyano FE, Mund M, Andersson S, Schulze ED (2010). Heterotrophic soil respiration and soil carbon dynamics in the deciduous Hainich forest obtained by three approaches. Biogeochemistry 100, 167-183. doi: 10.1007/s10533-010-9414-9.
  • Knohl A, Søe ARB, Kutsch WL, Göckede M, Buchmann N (2008). Representative estimates of soil and ecosystem respiration in an old beech forest. Plant Soil 302, 189-202. doi: 10.1007/s11104-007-9467-2.
  • Kutsch WL, Bahn M, Rebmann C, Knohl A, Ziegler W, Schulze ED (2008). Advection and resulting CO2 exchange uncertainty in a tall forest in central Germany. Ecological Applications 18, 1391-1405. doi: 10.1890/06-1301.1.
  • Knohl A, Schulze ED, Kolle O, Buchmann N (2003). Large carbon uptake by an unmanaged 250-year-old deciduous forest in central Germany. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 118, 151-167. doi:10.1016/S0168-1923(03)00115-1.
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