News
10 October 2022
The station located in Kibbutz Sdot Yam, Israel, was established to provide baseline data and understanding of the shallow Mediterranean ecosystem. MKMRS is a satellite station of the Leon H Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa.Its Activity Report covers monitoring seasons 1-10 of the first 6 years of operation. The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) station was established in 2015 as a response to the lack of open-access, high-resolution data on several aspects of the Israel...
7 October 2022
More than 100 LTER-Europe sites belong to the air pollution effects monitoring of the UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). The long-term International Cooperation Centers (ICP) of ICP Forests, ICP Waters, and ICP Integrated Monitoring, and several data and analysis groups, have for many decades been identifying ecosystem damage (and subsequent recovery) from air pollution. eLTER and the ICPs work in the same realm of environmental issues, address common societal g...
5 October 2022
The International Mountain Conference took place in Innsbruck (September 11-15, 2022), continuing the series of scientific conferences exclusively targeting mountain-research.Hosted in the European Alps, the IMC provided a fantastic opportunity for experts from different disciplines to discuss mountain-related issues in a cross-disciplinary setting. The conference aimed at enhancing and synthesizing our understanding of mountain systems, particularly their response and resilience to global chang...
5 October 2022
DEIMS-SDR is one of the most comprehensive publicly available catalogues of long-term ecosystem research and monitoring sites in the world. It was created to reduce fragmentation and to increase the findability, interoperability, and accessibility of in-situ sites and data.Today, DEIMS-SDR contains detailed site information of about 760 eLTER sites in Europe as well as sites outside of Europe. It offers information on long-term research sites and access to data sets.In order to promote DEIMS-SDR...
3 October 2022
The University of Helsinki, Institute for Atmosphere and Earth System Research/Department of Forest Sciences, is looking for a Postdoctoral researcher to a Horizon Europe project BioDT (Biodiversity Digital Twin), and the eLTER ESFRI process, where the PI at Helsinki University is professor Jaana Bäck.BioDT aims at pushing the current boundaries of predictive understanding of biodiversity dynamics by developing a Biodiversity Digital Twin (BioDT), providing advanced modelling, simulation and pre...
3 October 2022
The long wait for a physical Interim Council (IC) meeting came finally to end when the delegations met face to face in Uppsala, Sweden, on September 28-29 2022.The IC04 meeting was hosted by SLU and chaired by Prof. Kevin Bishop. Delegates from seven countries attended the meeting physically, with a further 11 delegations joining via Zoom.Apart from the joy of really meeting many people for the first time, there were also important items on the agenda. The IC discussed the recently established e...
30 September 2022
LIFE MODERn(NEC) (LIFE20GIE / IT / 000091) was launched in October 2021 to meet the requirements of Art.9 of the EU Directive "NEC" (National Emission Ceiling, 2016/2284), that commits Member States to monitor the impacts of air pollutants on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. The European countries pursue the objectives of the Directive through a network of monitoring sites representative of the main European ecosystems.The current NEC Italy Network consists of six forest and four freshwate...
22 September 2022
Each year, the different LTER-Pt partners prepare dissemination events for the general public to promote knowledge and generate discussions about the role of ecologists within LTER sites, as part of an Ecology Day celebration.Ecology Day emerged as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of ecology in 2016, marked with a roundtable at the European Parliament in Brussels. The 14th September was the chosen date since it coincides with the day Ernst Haeckel defined ecology as a science. Since 2017,...
22 September 2022
Air pollution is a major and global concern, arising for the most part from human activities. Air pollutants can be emitted by a variety of sources or formed directly in the atmosphere. They alter the air we breathe and have clear negative effects on our health. But they also affect the Earth's climate and have a tremendous, often underestimated, impact on our economies. This 3-week course shares the basics of air pollution and its effects. During the first week, you will discover the major...
7 September 2022
On 24th and 25th August an eLTER delegation, led by Michael Mirtl (eLTER PPP coordinator) and Jaana Back (eLTER PLUS coordinator), visited the head offices of their “sister” research infrastructures of ICOS and ACTRIS for an important exchange of experience and support.ICOS was represented by Werner Kutsch (Director General), Katri Ahlgren (Head of Communications), Elena Saltikoff (Head of Operations) and other key members. The ACTRIS group was headed by Eija Juurola and Paolo Laj, both Interim...
19 February 2015
The LTER-Europe conference (19-20 February 2015) starts today in Vienna, Austria, hosted by Environment Agency Austria.
The meeting is an opportunity for representatives from national Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) networks across Europe to meet and share LTER-related issues and new developments within the field. The strategic development of LTER-Europe will be discussed, as will Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER). We'll consider new and...
17 August 2013
LTER-Europe has teamed up with the LIFE+ project EnvEurope for its annual meeting in Rome this week. It should be an important event.
The meeting is an opportunity for infrastructure managers and scientific users interested in LTER-Europe to meet and hear about the science that LTER-Europe helps deliver and to exchange ideas, strengthen interactions, identify development priorities and explore possible collaborative projects.
In build...
27 September 2021
The second eLTER Interim Council took place from 29-30 June 2021 with 50 representatives of 19 countries and the project’s Steering committee.
Among the important decisions taken during the meeting were the election of Kevin Bishop (Sweden) as the Chair, and Daniel Weselka (Austria) as the Vice-Chair, and the approval of the eLTER RI Strategic Plan and the eLTER Central Services host selection process.
Members decided to direct the Strategic Plan towards both European and global audiences....
31 July 2021
The Global Ecosystem Research Infrastructure (GERI) arranged a session in the vEGU2021. The session consisted of 10 presentations covering topics like water resources and oceans, SDG’s addressed by RIs, climate models informing policy decisions and the fundamental concept of the emerging GERI, which was presented by the eLTER PLUS coordinator, Professor Jaana Bäck.
GERI is a consortium of six distributed RIs (eLTER and ICOS in Europe, TERN in Australia, NEON in US,&nbs...
28 July 2021
Country: PortugaleLTER site: Baixo Sabor LTERThe Baixo Sabor LTsER is located in Portugal, in the region of Trás-os-Montes, within the watershed of the Sabor river (3868 km2), which drains into the Douro river. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Sabor River and the catchment of its tributaries (1590 km2).The research on site aims to understand the long-term consequences of river damming on freshwater and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems. As such, a thorough fish monitoring program has been e...
25 July 2021
The purpose of the document is to provide the various eLTER teams, National Coordinators and the Site and Platform Coordinators with up-to-date information on how to handle their communication on local, national and international level in the best possible way.
Furthermore, the included information could be of general usefulness for the eLTER community even outside of the project. Among the contents of the Handbook are:
- How to write for social media: Twitter / Facebook...
24 July 2021
Country: IsraeleLTER platform: Ramat Hanadiv LTSER PlatformConnected to the edge of the trap is an inverted bottle that traps flies, mosquitoes, moths, and other flying insects. The insects are weighed, identified by experts, and preserved in Israel’s National Nature Collections. The trap is resistant to weather hazards, including the strong winds that blow through the region now and then, and has been fenced by the staff of Ramat Hanadiv to protect it from wildlife damage. The large-holed netti...
23 July 2021
In a collaborative effort of multiple LTER member networks, as well as external input from the University of Maryland and the University of Salzburg, ILTER has funded and recently published an open-access study dedicated to assessing the biogeographical and socio-ecological representativeness of the ILTER site network.The findings of this study and derived recommendations will foster and support the future development of ILTER. The developed methodology also bears relevance for eLTER and has alr...
22 July 2021
The monitoring station of Companhia das Lezírias (CL) joined the LIFEPLAN project, as a representative of the montado landscape. Every week and until 2026, the cE3c team will collect the images and sounds recorded automatically by cameras and audiomoths installed on trees, and samples of spores and flying insects collected with a cyclone sampler and a malaise trap. Soil samples will also be collected 8 times a year. This sampling effort will be alternating every year wit...
20 July 2021
Country: SloveniaeLTER site: Postojna-Planina Cave SystemKarst areas are characterized by solubility of carbonate rocks, resulting in predominantly underground drainage. Due to rapid flow and quick transmission of any substances, these areas are very vulnerable to pollution. Some areas, like large enclosed depressions called poljes, are also susceptible to flooding. This happens when groundwater level rises above surface or when inflow into poljes is larger than outflow through swallow holes.The...
14 July 2021
Following a comprehensive working process eLTER completed a stakeholder assessment identifying six external and one internal stakeholder categories with over 30 groups. The starting point for this mapping exercise was the preliminary stakeholder analysis for the ESFRI application. The initial picture was further developed by several workshops and reflections with internal and external participants. A focus was put on the future eLTER RI coordination and their links to European and national level...
8 July 2021
The Global Ecosystem Research Infrastructure (GERI) arranged a session in the vEGU2021. The session consisted of 10 presentations covering topics like water resources and oceans, SDG’s addressed by RIs, climate models informing policy decisions and the fundamental concept of the emerging GERI, which was presented by the eLTER PLUS coordinator, Professor Jaana Bäck.
GERI is a consortium of six distributed RIs (eLTER and ICOS in Europe, TERN in Australia, NEON in US,&nbs...
5 January 2022
Frontiers in Experimental Research on Changing Environments which will be held between 7–9 June 2022 in Leipzig / Bad-Lauchstädt, Germany, is accepting abstracts.Submission Deadline: 31 January 2022.TopicsLand-use impactsClimate change impactsPollution effects and nutrient depositionContext dependencies and interactions among driversEcosystems of the future: modelling and projectionsAbstracts to be:lecture or poster presentationscopied or written in a form field3,200 characters including blanks;...
3 January 2022
The background, current status and future perspectives of eLTER RI and the European environmental research infrastructures were presented to a wide audience of young scientists in Earth system research by professor Jaana Bäck (eLTER PLUS coordinator) from University of Helsinki on November 18, 2021.The Young Scientist School (YSS) on “Multi–Scales and–Processes Integrated Modelling, Observations and Assessment for Environmental Applications” was organized in memory of distinguished professor Ser...
2 November 2021
"Frontiers in Soil Science" announced a call for articles for its special issue on "Greenhouse gas measurements in underrepresented areas of the world". The submission deadline is 24 March 2022. This Research Topic aims at facilitating the communication of results from studies that have measured or estimated greenhouse gas fluxes and budgets in underrepresented areas or the world. Submission of original research articles focused on the following themes, both from natural and anthropog...
2 November 2021
The Department of Environmental Systems Science at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute invite applications for a joint professorship in Aerosol Chemistry. The new professor will act as Head of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry at PSI.
The successful candidate, an internationally renowned expert in the field of aerosol chemistry, will head the Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry and will further advance the laboratory’s expertise in the investigation of atmospheric aerosol chemi...
21 September 2021
Insects have an important function for both ecosystems and the economy. Almost 90% of flowering wild plants worldwide depend at least partially on pollination by animals. And more than 75% of all crops also need pollinators if they are to produce a high yield and good quality. But what about these important helpers? Where are their populations threatened? And what can be done about it? So far, there has been a lack of systematic inventories in Europe that can provide answers to these questions....
15 November 2016
The 10th anniversary of the Italian LTER network, which comprises terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine sites, will be marked with a conference in Mantova, Italy, on November 16th. The event will be an opportunity to present the results of 10 years of intense environmental research and observation, to celebrate past projects and to discuss new initiatives.
Participants will discuss the achievements of LTER-Italy during this 10 year period and identify areas on which to focus efforts in...
14 November 2016
Several representatives of the eLTER Research Infrastructure that is being developed via the eLTER ESFRI initiative, attended the 3rd ENVRI week in Prague. ENVRI week, which takes place twice a year in November and May, is dedicated to Environmental Research Infrastructures, and is organised by the ENVRIplus project.As well as sessions relating to ENVRIPlus work themes, there were additional sessions such as a joint session between environmental RIs and the Copernicus programme that is...
14 October 2016
From 10-13 October 2016, three hundred delegates from around the globe gathered in Skukuza in South Africa's Kruger National Park for the first ILTER Open Science Meeting.
This landmark event, the first of its kind organised by ILTER (the International Long-Term Ecological Research network), provided an opportunity for scientists to share the research carried out at long-term research sites around the world. In all, some 160 presentation...
14 September 2016
A new paper sets out how the international LTER community could collaborate effectively with the global ICSU Programme on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS)
Members of the International Long-Term Ecological Research (ILTER) community have published a paper exploring the contribution that their research can make to understanding changes in biodiversity and trade-offs among ecosystem services, stakeholders and components of well-being....
9 March 2016
A video featuring the Montado long-term research site, one of the eLTER project's Transnational Access sites, has been produced by the OPERAs project.
The video explains how the cork plantations of Portugal are some of the most biologically diverse agricultural systems on the planet. Despite this, the unique Montado area is under threat from over exploitation, climate change and disease. The EU-funded OPERAs project has teamed up with Po...