Measurement sites

INAR RI Agriculture will establish several state-of-the-art measurement stations to study GHG, carbon and nitrogen flows on mineral soils.

The site locations are shown in the map. Read more about each measurement station from below.

SMEAR-Agri Viikki

SMEAR-Agri Viikki is a permanent and long-term site. The site is constructed on the fields of Viikki Research Farm hence allowing to study the full farm climate impact. It is located on mineral clay soil, mostly under grassland. The site is constructed during summer 2021. Planned activities include micrometeorological EC system and automated chamber system for CO2, CH4, N2O and H2O, automated wireless soil measurements, measurements of crop growth and soil chemical, physical and microbial properties. Detailed maps of subsurface drainage offer many experimentation possibilities.

Station PI: Prof. Mari Pihlatie (mari.pihlatie at helsinki.fi)

SMEAR-Agri Haltiala

SMEAR-Agri Haltiala is located on a sandy clay soil in agricultural cropland in northern Helsinki. Crop species at the site are varying, no-till farming/direct-seeding is used. Planned measurements include CO2 flux, N2O flux by eddy covariance, CH4, N2O, CO2 fluxes by chambers, leaf area during the growing season and meteorological measurements. Construction of SMEAR-Agri Haltiala is ongoing and it will become a permanent, long-term site.

Station PI: Assoc. Prof. Annalea Lohila (annalea.lohila at fmi.fi)

Qvidja

Qvidja station is located on a clay loam soil, in Parainen, Southern Finland. The site is an agricultural grassland sown in 2017. The land is harvested twice a year and fertilized mainly with organic fertilizers. Measurement activities include CO2 and H2O exchange using eddy covariance method and continuous measurements of soil moisture, temperature, meteorology and atmospheric aerosols, together with manual measurements of greenhouse gas exchange and plant status. In addition, we perform different types of experiments, such as fertilization and cutting height in 2019-2020 and rotational grazing in 2021. Qvidja is a long-term field station.

Station PI: Laura Heimsch (laura.heimsch at fmi.fi)

Maaninka 1

Anttila measurement site is a mineral soil cultivated with legume grass mixtures. Eddy covariance and weather stations are located in the middle of the field with a climate controlled, blue cabin housing the GHG analyser. The data collection has been going on since May 2017. GHG data covering the entire rotation cycle are already available. As a part of the several new projects at Luke Maaninka, we plan to further understand the soil plant climate interactions at this site with a focus on below ground soil C and N dynamics. The broad aim is to link above- and below-ground processes in a managed grassland under boreal conditions.

Station PI: Narasinha Shurpali (narasinha.shurpali at luke.fi)

Maaninka 2

Särkisuo measurement site is a drained organic grassland site where GHG exchange as affected hydrological manipulation will be studied. The idea is to explore if we can reduce CO2 losses from the organic soil by raising the water table enough to support the cultivation of grasslands. Raising the water table level may enhance methane emissions. The aim is to arrive at a threshold level of water table that will a) reduce CO2 emissions, b) support grass growth, and c) keep CH4 emissions to a minimum. 

Station PI: Narasinha Shurpali (narasinha.shurpali at luke.fi)

Maaninka 3

Pappilansuo measurement site is another drained organic grassland site where the impact of harvest and establishment times on the grassland GHG balance will be studied.

Station PI: Narasinha Shurpali (narasinha.shurpali at luke.fi)

Ruukki

Ruukki is located on a drained peatland with peat depth varying between 10 and 90 cm. The site is currently an agricultural grassland harvested twice a year. Measurement activities include CO2 and N2O exchange with eddy covariance method and continuous measurements of soil moisture, temperature and meteorology together with manual measurements of greenhouse gas exchange and plant status. In addition, we perform different types of experiments, such as fertilization and cutting height in 2019-2020. Ruukki is a long-term station. 

Station PI: Henriikka Vekuri (henriikka.vekuri at fmi.fi)