Probenarten Terrestrische Ökosysteme

The spruce is widespread in Central Europe due to its popularity with forestry managers and as a result its incidence is high. Its suitability as a specimen type for the Environmental Specimen Bank is founded on its economic and ecological significance, our considerable understanding of its ecology, population genetics, sensitivity and patterns of accumulation in relation to many hazardous substances.

The target organ is the one-year-old shoot which, when sampled in spring (February to late May before sprouting begins), presents a comprehensive picture of winter pollution in the environment, unlike the deciduous beech and poplar.

A sampler at work

The information provided by this specimen type is analogous to that from the spruce, which means that is can be used as a substitute for spruce in areas where pine is the numerically predominant of the two (Düben Heath sampling area).

Again, the target organ is the one-year-old shoot, which is collected in spring (February to late May before sprouting begins).

The common, or European, beech plays a dominant role in most nearly natural and also anthropogenically influenced forest ecosystems in Central Europe. Unlike the coniferous spruce, it prefers lower altitudes.

Sampling takes place in the late summer before the leaves begin to change colour (August to mid-September.

The Lombardy poplar was chosen as a deciduous tree typical of ecosystems close to dense urban settlements, which supply conditions of growth considerably different in many ecologic respects from nearly natural ecosystems.

It meets the exacting requirements of specimen reproducibility and the geographical comparability of findings, above all because of its consistent genetic pattern and its resistance to pollution.

The leaves are the target organ.

Sampling takes place in the late summer before the leaves begin to change colour (August to mid-September).

Harvesting poplar twigs

The roedeer is the most common of the larger herbivores to be found in the wild in Europe, and its suitability as a specimen type for the Environmental Specimen Bank in nearly natural, forestry and agrarian ecosystems derives from its well-researched function as a bioindicator, with adequately dense, site-bound populations and a pronounced ability to adapt to different conditions.

Sampling takes place between mid-May and mid-June (10-15 yearlings) and between September and late December (10-15 fawns).

The domestic pigeon was chosen as a specimen type characteristic of settlement areas (conurbations and agrarian areas) and as a suitable, well-researched bioindicator. Being a cosmopolitan bird, it lends itself to a comparative observation of pollution levels in its various habitats.

It is advisable when embarking on long-term monitoring programmes to set up appropriate nesting facilities (dovecotes) on targeted sites in order to ensure that reproducible specimens can be obtained.

The earthworms Lumbricus terrestris and Aporrectodea longa are collected for the Environmental Specimen Bank in spatial coordination with the soil specimens, as these deep-burrowing species create a link between the topsoil, usually organic, and the layers of soil below, indicating the bioavailability rate of pollution in the soil medium as a whole.

They also play a central role in the ecosystem food chain and energy cycle, causing an outstanding exposure to hazardous substances.

The whole bodies of mature earthworms serve as specimens once all faeces have been removed.

More than any other environmental medium, soil permits the measurement of pollution levels in terrestrial ecosystems due to its functions within economic production, as a habitat, and as a filter, transformation and sink medium. On the other hand, however, comparability in terms of time and place presents problems because of pronounced structural and functional differences and geographical variations.

In order to meet the specific requirements of the Environmental Specimen Bank, therefore, the methods to be substantiated in the future SOP will deviate from those found in the many sampling regulations with which we are already familiar.

Vertical soil section

Sampling takes place every 4 years in the spring when collecting specimens of spruce.

Airborne load transfer is an indispensable parameter in any ecological evaluation of material cycles. Input is estimated on the basis of concentration readings for airborne substances.

To date, air specimens in the Environmental Specimen Bank have not reflected a cross-section of time or place, but have simply been collected as back-up material when sampling coniferous and deciduous trees.

Specimen types

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