eLTER strengthens cooperation with ICP Forests at FORECOMON 2026

The ICP Forests Scientific Conference (FORECOMON) and Task Force Meeting took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from 4 to 6 May 2026, bringing together experts working on forest monitoring and ecosystem observations across Europe. At the FORECOMON Conference, which focused on remote sensing applications in forest monitoring, Thomas Dirnböck from the Environment Agency Austria, presented the eLTER Framework of Standard Observations and demonstrated, through examples from two eLTER sites in Finland and Austria, how novel measurements can be used for the calibration and validation of drought impact monitoring in forests.

During the ICP Forests Task Force Meeting, the presentation introduced the Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, Critical Zone and Socio-Ecological Research (eLTER) Research Infrastructure and its growing cooperation with ICP Forests within the broader European environmental research landscape. Thomas Dirnböck emphasized that eLTER aims to fill a major gap in continental-scale ecosystem research by providing harmonized, long-term observations across Europe. A central theme of the presentation was the importance of coordination and harmonization between monitoring infrastructures and networks. eLTER promotes standardized observations and interoperability with existing research infrastructures and monitoring programmes, including ICP Forests, ICOS, ACTRIS, and others. Particular attention has been given to harmonized monitoring protocols with ICP Forests, as many national ICP Forests networks implement eLTER Standard Observations, co-located at selected sites (Category 2).

The presentation also highlighted the formal collaboration between eLTER and the UNECE Working Group on Effects, which began in 2017 and resulted in a Letter of Cooperation, adopted in Geneva in 2022. Shared priorities with the International Cooperative Programmes include standardization, improved data services, cost efficiency, scientific cooperation, and broader spatial coverage of monitoring networks. eLTER advocates a nested monitoring design with co-located sites to maximize scientific value and improve ecosystem representativity across Europe.

The ICP Forests Task Force Meeting also marked the handover of the Chair from Marco Ferretti (Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research) to Natalie Cools (Research Institute for Nature and Forest - INBO, Flanders, Belgium). Both colleagues have been long-term supporters of eLTER, advocating integrated ecosystem monitoring built on existing research and monitoring facilities. Natalie Cools has also played a key role in the development of soil-related measurement protocols within both ICP Forests and eLTER.