eLTER Standard Observations

2024 saw major progress with the development of eLTER’s Standard Observations (SOs). The SOs are cornerstones of the eLTER Research Infrastructure and are a joint effort of the eLTER scientific community.

They comprise the minimum set of variables for 65 environmental variables covering all five ecosystem spheres, including protocols and a costing tool for their implementation, to adequately characterise the state and future trends of the Earth system. Their selection and design aims at fulfilling three key functions: determining the system's state and development, providing sufficient spatiotemporal coverage, and offering high impact, high feasibility, and relatively low cost of implementation. 

You can explore the eLTER Standard Observations for the hydro-, geo-, atmo-, bio-, and sociosphere and a range of habitats from forests to aquatic systems here. 

The protocols for the SOs are currently being finalized and will be published in early 2025.