Design of an integrated monitoring programme in Sweden

A National Swedish Environmental Monitoring Programme, the PMK, has been designed for regular and permanent recording of environmental conditions and long-term changes in background regions, and for keeping track of the flux of pollutants in and between various media. Many of the projects involved deal with integrated monitoring of terrestrial and limnic ecosystems. This work is carried out in or near some 20 small watersheds, usually selected in national parks or nature reserves. The environmental factors monitored in these areas include concentrations of chemical substances in precipitation, soil, groundwater, surface water, and organisms, as well as biological parameters—such as the population size and reproductive capacity of certain species—that may indicate effects of environmental disturbances. The data from this programme can be used as a reference to environmental data acquired near pollution sources, and as a basis for measures against e.g. acid rain, heavy-metal pollution, and use of pesticides. The biological parameters may also reveal effects of yet unknown pollutants or other disturbances.