Welcome to the Barbeau forest website

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Since 2003, the Plant Ecophysiology team of the ESE research laboratory manages a forest experimental site located in the Barbeau state forest, 53 kms South-East of Paris, France. The Barbeau forest is a mature sessile oak stand (Quercus petraea) with hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) understory.
Our research activities are focused on a better understanding of the processes that govern the tree and forest ecosystem functioning. Since 2005, a strong research investment is conducted, particularly through the monitoring station installed on the top of a 35-m (115-ft) tower, dedicated to the measurement of carbon and water vapour exchanges between the forest ecosystem and the atmosphere.
Because the Barbeau forest is located near the Fontainebleau forest, the "Barbeau site" is also named "Fontainebleau site". That is the case, for example, on the FluxNet or SOERE F-ORE-T websites.

Barbeau forest site in the ICOS network

ICOS, for Integrated Carbon Observation System, is a new European infrastructure dedicated to high precision monitoring of greenhouse gas fluxes for long term (20+ years) observatory. ICOS tracks carbon fluxes in Europe and adjacent regions by monitoring the ecosystems, the atmosphere and the oceans through integrated networks.
The Barbeau forest site is one of the 15 French sites involved in the ICOS Ecosystem network. Among this 15 sites (forests, croplands or grasslands), 14 are located in metropolitan France and 1 in French Guyana (see the map on the right).

Real-time monitoring

To know more about monitored variables, click here.