ICOS-Measuring Station

In Ll. Bøgeskov, near Sorø on Midtsjælland, DTU Sustain has built a forest observatory where we study the behavior of forests using gas exchange, especially carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Since 1996, we have made measurements of more than 100 different parameters for the benefit of researchers worldwide. The measurements are calculated every half hour and primarily concern the exchange of carbon dioxide between the ecosystem (the forest) and the atmosphere.

The review of data from the first 24 years of measurements up to 2019 shows how the beech forest over the years has increased its carbon uptake and thus contributed to reducing climate impact. Carbon uptake occurs in the summer half of the year when the trees have leaves, whereas the forest emits carbon in the winter half there.

Forests have a long lifespan. The trees can become several hundred years old if we let them grow. Soil development takes several thousand years.

Nature’s stability is built on cooperation and balance; what we call ecosystems. Biodiversity is not only about species and numbers, but just as much about the ecosystems that house animals and plants. Ecosystems that not only function as habitats but also provide the ecosystem services that help us humans. This happens, among other things, with vital functions such as producing oxygen via photosynthesis. It is extremely complicated to investigate ecosystems, their dynamics, and boundaries. When it comes to forest, it is field research that takes place around the clock over several decades.

When it comes to forest change, gas exchange is the only quick signal we know. By examining the gas exchange, we can see when and to what extent our forest absorbs energy and carbon and how much it loses water.

We can see how different degrees of drought affect the forest in the long run - and how the rapid and steady warming affects the physiological processes in the forest and its net carbon balances.

Our observatory is among the four stations with the longest time series worldwide. It is part of two international research infrastructures, the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) and the long-term ecosystem research network LTER.

When we have long-term data for ecosystems, we get the unique opportunity to observe climate changes and their impact on our natural ecosystems in “real time”, and while it happens.

We can assess what is “normal” and what is “extreme” - and how the forest can handle extreme weather events.

At DTU Sustain, we develop monitoring technology that makes it possible to observe how biodiversity and natural rhythms change under Global Change, and how forests are driven under the disturbed natural environment.