The Integrated and Combined (I&C) evaluation system to detect status and trends of the CONECOFOR Permanent Monitoring Plots

CONECOFOR is the Italian program for the intensive monitoring of forest ecosystems sponsored by the Ministry for Agricultural and Forest Policy and the European Commission. It is based upon a series of investigations carried out on 20 (27 from 1999) plots located throughout Italy. The investigations collect data on various ecosystem compartments (soil, ground vegetation, trees, atmosphere) and processes (atmospheric inputs, tree nutrition and growth). A major benefit of intensive monitoring programs is the opportunity they provide to organize integrated studies aimed at understanding the driving forces acting at the ecosystem level. In Italy, the Integrated and Combined (I&C) evaluation system within the CONECOFOR program involves three major approaches: (i) the evaluation of risk status in relation to air pollution, (ii) the quantification of the ecosystem’s status and changes, and (iii) the evaluation of the relationship between pressure and status indicators through time. The I&C project involves scientists from many institutions; major emphasis is placed on the evaluation of data quality and precision. These are regarded as the basic steps in the whole project and a likely source of information about the suitability of the current sample sizes for providing a proper estimation of the parameters under consideration. The paper will provide information on the conceptual and methodological background of the I&C project