European Long-Term Ecosystem Research Network

Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) is an essential component of world wide efforts to better understand ecosystems. This comprises their structure, functions, and response to environmental, societal and economic drivers as well as the development of management options.

For the first two decades of its existence LTER built on natural sciences. The ongoing re-design of LTER aims at expanding its scope to the human dimension. Strongly coupled and integrated socio-ecological systems are driven by economic, cultural and environmental forces likewise. Their investigation requires a new generation of socio-economic and ecological research (LTSER) with adequate infrastructure.

LTER-Europe is a network of:

• national networks and the European contribution to the global International Long Term Ecological Research (ILTER) with 16 of the 44 ILTER members belonging to LTER-Europe
• research infrastructures (LTER sites and LTSER platforms forming national networks)
• institutions involved in ecological research across the continent and aiming at a virtual European ecological research institute
• researchers in natural sciences, sociology and economy
• scientific site co-ordinators and research platform managers
• long-term data
• research projects
• support for communication and lobbying

LTER-Europe networking in action: participants at a recent workshop in the Czech Republic

What do you want to do?

• Find information on LTER-Europe's sites
• Join LTER-Europe (as a national network)
• Join a national network (as a site or platform)
  
• Find project partners
• Find files/documents

Current status of LTER networks in Europe