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https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-99
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-99
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Preprints
10 Apr 2026
 | 10 Apr 2026
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

The ICOS Ecosystem Station Loobos: a pine forest site exposed to atmospheric pollution

Michiel K. van der Molen, Henk Snellen, Rupert Holzinger, Johannes G. M. Barten, Hong Zhao, Laurens Ganzeveld, Julie Fry, Wouter Peters, Maarten Krol, Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arrelano, and Bart Kruijt

Abstract. The Loobos Ecosystem Station (ICOS: NL-Loo) is in a pine forest on sandy soil, the most dominant forest type in the Netherlands. The station was first built in 1995 and the first atmospheric flux measurements were taken in 1997. The station was one of the first in EuroFlux and FLUXNET. Between 2021 and 2023, the station was rebuilt to meet the ICOS standards as an Ecosystem Class 2 station. The initial purpose of the station was to measure fluxes of heat, water and carbon dioxide. Over time, interest has increased in better understanding the forest water use and ecosystem dynamics and its interaction with air quality. This has resulted in additional concentration and flux measurements of ozone and volatile organic compounds. In the near future, we intend to include measurements of nitrogen species (ammonia and nitrogen oxides) to exploit Loobos’ unique location downwind of major anthropogenic emission hotspots. Documenting the instrumentation and exploring the quality of the data is important to understand the observational data. This paper therefore describes the station in terms of geography, ecosystem and instrumentation.

How to cite. van der Molen, M. K., Snellen, H., Holzinger, R., Barten, J. G. M., Zhao, H., Ganzeveld, L., Fry, J., Peters, W., Krol, M., Vila-Guerau de Arrelano, J., and Kruijt, B.: The ICOS Ecosystem Station Loobos: a pine forest site exposed to atmospheric pollution, Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-99, in review, 2026.
Received: 04 Feb 2026 – Discussion started: 10 Apr 2026
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Michiel K. van der Molen, Henk Snellen, Rupert Holzinger, Johannes G. M. Barten, Hong Zhao, Laurens Ganzeveld, Julie Fry, Wouter Peters, Maarten Krol, Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arrelano, and Bart Kruijt

Status: open (until 17 May 2026)

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Michiel K. van der Molen, Henk Snellen, Rupert Holzinger, Johannes G. M. Barten, Hong Zhao, Laurens Ganzeveld, Julie Fry, Wouter Peters, Maarten Krol, Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arrelano, and Bart Kruijt

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-99-supplement

Data sets

ETC L2 Archive from Loobos 2023-01-01–2025-10-01 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/RBbGtSvPuyjgktNpRDUq5fpw

ETC L2 Meteosens from Loobos 2022-12-31–2025-09-30 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/ue7IUwhI1eSbNEsFZtbvWjur

ETC L2 Meteo from Loobos 2022-12-31–2025-09-30 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/7OvfpkiXvumy_vSHQ6ds3Zbo

ETC L2 Fluxes from Loobos 2022-12-31–2025-09-30 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/Ww4zYPNKHkBUcjZxNS4CXN1j

ETC L2 Auxdata from Loobos 2023-05-10–2025-10-01 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/N3zBxhFvmOdlkXIW8jwryl-A

ETC NRT Meteosens from Loobos, 2025-09-30–2026-02-02 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/dsr4zZ3uWWcwSAHl5VnaPK2V

ETC NRT Meteo from Loobos, 2025-09-30–2026-02-02 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/ZYwePVBwSnQfO8buNlkj3r8f

ETC NRT Fluxes from Loobos, 2025-09-30–2026-02-02 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/-l_yUYF4afS0hfT__FLxpmNJ

ETC NRT AuxData from Loobos, 2025-09-30–2026-02-02 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/11676/fnL4vgIPrGLXLD-O97gpZ9cB

ICOS Forest ancillary data A. Iserbyt et al. https://icos.uantwerpen.be/Content/AncillaryReports/NL-Loo_Ancillary_Report.html

NL-Loo_O3_2025: Ozone concentration and flux observations at 925 Loobos, NL – 2025 M. van der Molen et al. https://doi.org/10.17887/WUR01-6UGU9F

Model code and software

Loobos Second Tower Reference Paper M. van der Molen https://git.wur.nl/molen050/loobos-second-tower-reference-paper

Michiel K. van der Molen, Henk Snellen, Rupert Holzinger, Johannes G. M. Barten, Hong Zhao, Laurens Ganzeveld, Julie Fry, Wouter Peters, Maarten Krol, Jordi Vila-Guerau de Arrelano, and Bart Kruijt
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Short summary
In 2021, a second tower was built in Loobos (NL-Loo) to measure carbon dioxide and water fluxes, as an Integrated Carbon Observing System (ICOS) Class 2 Ecosystem station. Instrumentation was installed to measure volatile organic compound and ozone fluxes. This paper describes the site’s geological and cultural history, ecosystem composition, instrumentation and ancillary ecosystem measurements. The paper goes into the quality of the measurements and continuity with respect to the first tower.
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