Research projects using ICOS Sweden RI data and on site

Advancing airborne assessments of GHG fluxes

Linköping University

This project develops new methods for large-scale greenhouse gas flux measurements with drones (UAVs) to accurately quantify methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide emissions, enabling better assessments and regulation of climate-sensitive fluxes from landscapes.

Atmospheric oxidation of emissions from the boreal forest in a complex and nonlinear world

University of Gothenburg

This VR-funded project explores how biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) contribute to atmospheric particle formation, a key process in climate and air quality. Due to the complexity and variability of BVOC emissions and their oxidation, the study bridges the gap between laboratory findings and real-world conditions. Using forest management-induced BVOC scenarios at the Norunda ICOS/ACTRIS station, and applying advanced mass spectrometry and field observations, it investigates secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation under natural conditions. The findings improve understanding of BVOC oxidation mechanisms, supporting more accurate climate and air quality predictions.

BESTFOREST - Towards the Last Rotation? Evaluating Alternative Management Strategies for Increased Climate and Biodiversity Benefits in Boreal Forests

SLU Umeå

Boreal forests are vital to Sweden’s bio-based economy and provide key ecosystem services such as climate regulation and biodiversity support. Adapting forest management to climate change is essential, and a shift from traditional Rotation Forestry (RF) to Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is being considered to enhance environmental benefits and resilience. However, limited empirical data hinders informed decision-making. This Formas-funded project addresses that gap by using the unique SITES and ICOS-Svartberget infrastructures, along with CCF trial stands, to collect comprehensive data on biomass production, climate interactions, and biodiversity under both RF and CCF. The goal is to integrate this knowledge into a decision-support framework that guides optimized forest management strategies under current and future climate conditions.

BREATHE - Monitoring river metabolism to assess ecosystem services

Umeå University/SE, River Ecosystems Laboratory/CH, CSIC Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB) Dept. Marine Ecology/ES, University of Bristol/GB, Norwegian Institute for Water Research/NOR, Federal University of São João del-Rei/BR

The BREATHE project aims to develop an international, sensor-based River Observation System (RIOS) to better assess river ecosystem functions and their link to ecosystem services such as climate regulation, water purification, and fisheries. Current national indicators often fail to capture these functions or translate them into ecosystem services. By leveraging advances in aquatic sensors, river metabolism methods, and data handling, BREATHE seeks to quantify river health more accurately using dissolved oxygen and metabolism metrics. Through stakeholder engagement and diverse case studies across Europe and Brazil, the project co-designs workflows and tests region-specific applications, ultimately improving river monitoring and informing policy.

CLIMB-FOREST - CLImate Mitigation and Bioeconomy pathways for sustainable FORESTry

Lund University, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (Nibio), Catholic University of Leuven, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, University of Helsinki, Global Change Research Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, University of Alcalá, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), University of Göttingen, University of Barcelona, Fundacion Centro de Estudios Ambientales del Mediterraneo (CEAM), Czech Technical University in Prague, Institut Européen de la Forêt Cultivée, Agricultural University of Krakow, ETH Zürich, OPPLA EEIG, Selvik Bruk AS

Climb-Forest is a new Horizon Europe project which aims to ensure Europe’s forests are resilient to the changing climate and support people and nature. CLIMB-FOREST aims to suggest alternative pathways for tomorrow’s forest tree cover and forest management that goes in line with climate mitigation of the forest while preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services at the same time. The methodology involves characterizing all possible climate effects including atmospheric chemistry and aerosols in the forest for a correct climate effects estimation and using both empirical data and modelling tools to quantify how climate and environment is affected. The project is working closely with the forestry sector and policy makers.

Continuous cover forestry in boreal forests: Consequences for timber production, carbon sequestration and biodiversity

SLU Umeå

This project, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, investigates how key ecosystem services—timber production, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity—vary across different forest management methods in boreal forests. With climate change expected to impact the boreal region significantly, adaptive strategies are needed. Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) is being considered as an alternative to traditional Rotation Forestry (RF), but empirical data on its effects are limited. Using trial sites across Sweden, the project evaluates various CCF methods, including selective thinning, checkerboard systems, and gap-felling, to assess their impact on forest productivity, carbon resilience, and ecological functions. The goal is to develop a decision-support framework that guides sustainable silviculture strategies tailored to future climate conditions.

CORE Climate costs of boreal forest clear-cutting - a multiscale experiment (2018-)

Lund University, University of Helsinki, Swansea University

The CORE project aims to assess the climate effects of rotation forestry at Norunda, the boreal research site with Sweden's longest record of greenhouse gas flux measurements. Within the project. i.a., exchanges of the greenhouse gases CO₂, methane, and nitrous oxide are measured to derive the full greenhouse gas budget of the area, but also biomass dynamics, soil conditions, groundwater and soil moisture dynamics, at scales spanning from microbes to the ecosystem. The dataset is then used to calibrate the ecosystem model LPJ-Guess, simulate greenhouse gas sinks and sources from land and vegetation, and analyse consequences of a range of reforestation strategies and climate change scenarios.

CORSO - CO2MVS Research on Supplementary Observations

European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, AGH University of Science and Technology, Centro Nacional de Supercomputación, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), Thomas Herbert Kaminski, Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques (Meteo-France), Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO, Netherlands), University of Groningen, Heidelberg University, Université Paul Sabatier, The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Wageningen University, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, ETH Zürich, University of Bristol, University of Edinburgh

The CO2MVS Research on Supplementary Observations (CORSO) project will support establishing the new European anthropogenic CO₂ emissions Monitoring and Verification Support capacity (CO2MVS), which is being implemented within the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). The CORSO project (grant agreement No101082194) is funded by the European Union. CORSO aims to deliver capabilities at global and local scale to optimally use observations of co-emitted species using their emission ratios and uncertainties to better estimate anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and assess the added-value of high-temporal resolution in-situ ¹⁴CO₂ and APO observations in global and regional scale inversions and of satellite observations of soil moisture, LAI, SIF, and Biomass in the global CO2MVS system to better separate the impact of fossil fuel and biospheric fluxes on the atmospheric CO₂ concentrations.

Forest management effects on forest resilience and carbon sink strength

Lund University

Large natural inter-annual variability in carbon fluxes between forests and the atmosphere make long time series of measurements absolutely crucial for determination of the climate effect of different management systems. The main target of the project is the better understanding and a quantification of the difference in whole ecosystem carbon balance between two types of forest management systems (rotation forestry and selection forestry) in order to assess their carbon sink strengths, carbon storage potentials and resilience.

GreenFeedback - Greenhouse Gas Fluxes and Earth System Feedbacks

Aarhus University, CNRS, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, University of Helsinki, Copenhagen University, Lund University, LUKE, MPI, Oulu University, University of Tartu, University of Liege, The Arctic University of Norway, Uppsala University, VLIZ

GreenFeedBack aims to advance understanding of greenhouse gas dynamics across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems to improve estimates of climate feedbacks under human pressures. Focusing on high-latitude regions and marine shelves, the project combines field campaigns, long-term station data, and laboratory studies to refine process-based ecosystem representation in Earth System Models. Enhanced knowledge will improve model descriptions and projections of GHG impacts on climate variability across time scales.

NextGenCarbon - Next Generation Modelling of Terrestrial Carbon Cycle by assimilation of in-situ campaigns and Earth Observations

SLU, German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)/GER, Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry/GER, University of Florence/IT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology/GER, CICERO Centre for International Climate Science/NOR, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich/GER, Science Partners, University of Exeter/UK, Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory (LSCE)/FRA, Leipzig University/GER, WENR, Wageningen University and Research/NL and more

The EU-funded NextGenCarbon project (Next Generation Modelling of Terrestrial Carbon Cycle by assimilation of in situ campaigns and Earth Observations) aims to improve our understanding of Europe's greenhouse gas budget by combining Earth Observation data from remote sensors and incorporating them into different carbon modelling approaches, using machine learning and benefiting from the expertise of 22 European partners.

New Users for a Better ICOS (NUBICOS)

Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS ERIC, lead), Max Planck Society,Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, University of Bergen, University of Antwerp, Flanders Marine Institute, Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University, Heidelberg University, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (INRAE), NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, National University of Ireland Galway, University of Leicester

New Users for a Better Integrated Carbon Observation System (NUBICOS) is a Horizon Europe project coordinated by ICOS containing 12 beneficiaries.The project has 4 core objectives: (i) Improved data quality and utilisation of data through tighter collaboration with the remote sensing community, thus consolidating the global greenhouse gas observations and European Research Infrastructure landscape. (ii) Improved value generation from observations to climate services through targeted evolution of ICOS. (iii) Increased efficiency of ICOS through strengthened national nodes and improved staff skills. (iv) Integration of ICOS into the global innovation ecosystem of environmental monitoring through intensified cooperation with the WMO framework.
To increase the connection between the ICOS ecosystem network and the Remote Sensing cal/val community a subset of the ICOS stations were introduced with additional sensors to measure variables which are of high interest to this community. NUBICOS is active at Abisko-Stordalen to measure Land Surface Temperature (LST) with highly accurate radiometers and at Hyltemossa with additional reflected below-canopy PAR to measure all relevant terms to precisely calculated the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FPAR).

Optimization of carbon uptake in south Sweden’s spruce forests

Lund University

Understanding the relationship between net ecosystem productivity (NEP) and stand age is essential for identifying when carbon uptake is maximized, which in turn influences the timing of final felling. This knowledge is critical for making informed decisions about forest management strategies that best support national climate goals. The aim of the project is to quantify how NEP varies with the stand age of spruce forests in southern Sweden that are managed under a rotation forestry system. Additionally, the project seeks to quantify net primary production (NPP) for both tree and ground vegetation layers as a function of stand age, and to assess soil respiration in relation to stand age, soil characteristics, and abiotic factors.

Q-Arctic

MPI-Met Hamburg (Germany), MPI-BGC Jena (Germany), Austrian Polar Research Insitute Vienna, b.geos GmbH, Korneuburg (Austria)

Q-Arctic is a ERC synergy project with the goal to simulate Arctic carbon budgets considering the net impact of disturbances at smallest scales. The project embraces four disciplines (in-situ observations at different scales, regional quantifications, remote sensing and earth system modelling) and three scaling levels (local, landscape and pan-Arctic). The project uses the Abisko-Stordalen mire for flux chamber work focusing on nutrients and carbon as well as drone observations of carbon flux patterns.

Relating tree water content and satellite SAR data in boreal forests

The project, funded by the National Space Agency, aims to improve monitoring of forest water dynamics using satellite-based microwave remote sensing, particularly synthetic aperture radar (SAR). Tree water content is vital for assessing forest health and climate resilience, but current methods lack spatial and temporal coverage. By combining satellite SAR data with ground-based radar, flux towers, and in-situ sensors at the Svartberget Research Forests, the project develops models to estimate tree water content. It focuses on linking radar signals to forest water status and validating these models using data from Sweden’s well-instrumented experimental forests, ultimately supporting climate adaptation and forest management strategies.

SEAKER-CC: Sea-spray Emissions - Absent Key-processes and Evidences for Responses to Changing Climate

Stockholm University

This VR-funded project improves sea spray (SS) flux measurements using advanced techniques to capture particle size and chemical composition over extended periods in the Barents and Baltic Seas. It investigates how sea temperature, salinity, and surfactants affect SS formation via bubble dynamics, using high-speed imaging. Chemical data collected over two summers will complement long-term flux observations. The combined dataset will refine SS source parameterizations, especially for organic SS in regions with varying primary production, and will be tested in global climate models in collaboration with modeling groups.

SLU research group "Boreal biosphere-climate interactions"

The research group around Matthias Peichl's at SLU in Umeå is working on various projects aimed at improving the understanding of biosphere-atmosphere exchanges of carbon and other greenhouse gases. Follow the link to access a list with short project descriptions.

The significance of trees to influence the global atmospheric burden and isotope ratio of methane

Lund University

Measurements of naturally occurring stable isotope ratios (¹³C/¹²C and 2H/1H for CH₄) provide a tool to understand what drives the changes in atmospheric abundance both now and in the past. This project concentrates on exploring the magnitude of isotopic fractionation of the forest sink while also gathering further flux data through a year-long measurement campaign at an established carbon monitoring observatory in Sweden.

The fate of mercury in thawing permafrost

SLU, Dept. of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Uppsala

Mercury has accumulated in permafrost since the last ice age, forming a major pollution sink. As permafrost thaws, this sink becomes unstable, potentially releasing mercury back into the atmosphere at levels exceeding current industrial emissions. The extent of this re-emission depends on complex and poorly understood chemical and biological interactions. The VR-funded research project at the Abisko-Stordalen mire will investigate these processes through ecosystem-scale measurements, analysis of microbial and geochemical drivers, and development of predictive indicators for mercury release from thawing permafrost globally.

Advancing the modelling of the peatland carbon balance through assimilation of high-resolution component flux and phenology data (2020-23)

SLU

This project aims to improve carbon cycle models for boreal peatlands by integrating high-resolution data on CO₂ fluxes and plant phenology. Current models lack detailed empirical data on photosynthesis and respiration processes, limiting their accuracy. By collecting data from contrasting fen and bog ecosystems, the project will refine algorithms for plant and microbial respiration and develop a dynamic vegetation model. These advancements will enhance simulations of carbon exchange and improve predictions of peatland-climate feedbacks under global change.

Characterising properties of Climate Relevant Organic and Inorganic Sea-Spray-aerosols, Sources and Air-sea-exchange causing their Net-emission (CROISSANT) (2019-22)

Stockholm University, Lund University,

Aerosols influence climate by scattering sunlight and acting as cloud condensation nuclei, altering cloud reflectivity. Aerosols and aerosol–cloud interactions represent the largest uncertainty in human-induced climate change. Sea spray aerosols (SSA), the planet’s main natural aerosol source, are controlled by wind, temperature, salinity, sea ice, and marine biology—all affected by climate change, creating feedback loops. Physical drivers of SSA are well understood, but organic and biological fractions remain uncertain. This project combines in situ eddy covariance flux measurements with SSA simulation tank experiments to characterize sources, quantify emissions, and integrate findings into climate models to assess current and future impacts.

Extreme events in the coastal zone – a multidisciplinary approach for better preparedness (2018-2022)

Uppsala University, Danish Technical University, SMHI, Centre of Natural Hazards & Disaster Science (CNDS)

The overarching scientific focus of this project is to examine how climate change influences the frequency and intensity of extreme events—such as storms, storm surges, and heavy precipitation—and their impacts on coastal zones. It also aims to advance modeling approaches to improve preparedness, mitigate societal consequences, and reduce key uncertainties, while identifying the most effective strategies for communicating these risks to society.

Forest-atmosphere exchanges and climate feedbacks (2015-18)

Lund University

The VR-funded project investigated aerosol and trace gas exchange between the boreal forest and the lower troposphere, aiming to quantify fluxes and vertical profiles of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) and the secondary organic aerosols (BSOA) they form. These processes, occurring in and above the forest canopy, are central to forest carbon sequestration and are sensitive to climate change. The project aimed at contributing to a better understanding of how atmospheric interactions influence the forest carbon cycle.

MOSS - Management strategies for tree colonized peatland ecOSyStems (2021-24)

Lund University

The FORMAS funded research project, active at among others Mycklemossen, aimed to formulate recommendations and directives on how peatlands should be preserved or restored given different tree coverage and hydrological histories.

Hyper-Forest: Below canopy hyperspectral drones for forestry (2021-2023)

Deep Forestry AB

The Hyper-Forest project developed and tested autonomous drones capable of calculating a forest’s annual greenhouse gas flux, including carbon dioxide sequestration. These drones navigate through tree canopies to collect high-resolution data from both canopy and forest floor. Compared to existing methods, the new system showed significant advantages and attracted strong interest from governments, academia, and industry.
After successful trials in late 2023, stakeholders began planning scale-up and further R&D through 2024. Deep Forestry AB, the main commercial partner, has set a strategy for market release by spring 2025.

Quantifying and partitioning forest evapotranspiration based on co-located radar and flux tower measurements (2021-2023)

Chalmers University of Technology

This VR-funded project investigated the link between radar measurements and forest evapotranspiration (ET), a key factor in climate and hydrological models. ET is difficult to measure accurately across large areas, and the lack of long-term, spatially distributed data limits understanding of forest-climate interactions. By combining radar and flux tower data at Svartberget, the project aimed to develop the first models connecting radar signals to ET and its components. These models will enable global, high-resolution monitoring of forest ET, improving climate predictions and addressing uncertainties in water cycle dynamics.