Abstract
Environmental changes in national parks are generally subject to constant observation. A particular case is parks located in mountains, which are more vulnerable to climate change and the binding of pollutants in mountain ranges as orographic barriers. The effectiveness of forest soil monitoring networks based on a systematic grid with a predetermined density has not been analysed so far. This study’s analysis was conducted in the Stolowe Mountains National Park (SMNP), SW Poland, using total Pb concentration data obtained from an initial network of 403 circle plots with centroids arranged in a regular 400 × 400 m square grid. The number and distribution of monitoring plots were analysed using geostatistical tools in terms of the accuracy and correctness of soil parameters obtained from spatial distribution imaging. The analysis also aimed at reducing the number of monitoring plots taking into account the economic and logistic aspects of the monitoring investigations in order to improve sampling efficiency in subsequent studies in the SMNP. The concept of the evaluation and modification of the monitoring network presented in this paper is an original solution and included first the reduction and then the extension of plot numbers. Two variants of reduced monitoring networks, constructed using the proposed procedure, allowed us to develop the correct geostatistical models, which were characterised by a slightly worse mean standardised error (MSE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) compared to errors from the original, regular monitoring network. Based on the new geostatistical models, the prediction of Pb concentration in soils in the reduced grids changed the spatial proportions of areas in different pollution classes to a limited extent compared to the original network.
Highlights
Soils play a key role in forest ecosystems where they bridge the abiotic and biotic parts of the ecosystems [1,2]
The geostatistical analyses conducted in this study indicated that the initial primary monitoring network (PMNet) structure allowed for the effective identification of Pb distribution in Stolowe Mountains National Park (SMNP) soils
The use of geostatistical tools to optimise the structure of the original mountain forest soil monitoring network, which is established based on a regular square grid, resulted in a reduction in the total number of monitoring plots
Summary
Soils play a key role in forest ecosystems where they bridge the abiotic and biotic parts of the ecosystems [1,2]. The dynamic development of human civilisation in recent centuries has contributed to adverse changes in the soil environment. Increasing industrialisation and urbanisation have contributed to higher pollutant loads entering soils [6,7,8,9]. The intensification of agricultural and forest management, often handled in an unbalanced manner, leads to the degradation of soils by nutrient leaching, acidification and erosion [10,11]. Wise management of the environment requires a recognition of the dynamic of contemporary threats to ecosystems, including soils. Monitoring programmes have become standard [12,13,14], and their scale and scope vary in relation to the intensity of natural and anthropogenic transformation, society awareness and ecological policy [2,15,16,17,18]
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