The description may be supplemented with inventories over the whole site of for example soil types and plant species. Site information is essential for scaling results obtained in the monitoring subprogrammes to the site as a whole, and its importance should not be underestimated. The monitoring is carried out at permanent stations, the locations of which are carefully selected according to the subprogrammes described in Chapter 7. A central aim of integrated monitoring is to establish the relationships between chemical, physical and biological parameters. 5.1.1 Basic information requirements Basic information of any IM site must be given when it is entered into the monitoring network of the programme.
Additional information is needed for the calibration of models.
These data include detailed information on vegetation and physical as well as chemical characteristics of the soil. Some of the necessary values are not collected regularly, but might exist from local model runs or special investigations carried out at the site. The models have quite different data requirements to the normal IM monitoring, and a variety of information may be needed. Such information will be sought directly by the modeller from the National Focal Points. The aim of mapping the monitoring site is to provide the basis for choosing the most representative locations for various types of sampling and to provide the basis for scaling the monitored information up to the site scale.