Structure

Hierarchical organisation of LTER-Europe

A major goal of the FP6 Network of Excellence ALTER-Net was to create a permanent continental LTER network beyond 2009. This has been achieved by

• setting up the in situ network as physical structure (LTER Sites and LTSER Platforms) and
• establishing "LTER-Europe" as regional group of the hierarchically organized global LTER-Network (ILTER). In most cases these regional groups represent continents or sub-continents.

The regional group LTER-Europe in principle coincides with the geographic boundaries of Europe. The key organisational elements of LTER under the regional or continental level are national LTER networks, comprising LTER Sites and/or LTSER Platforms. Some national networks like Finland mainly focus on LTSER platforms (containing LTER sites), while others are dominated by LTER sites (e.g. UK). But the necessity of a LTSER component has been broadly accepted.

The bodies of LTER-Europe are:

1. Chair and Vice-chair
2. Executive Committee (EC), consisting of chair, vize chair, expert panel leads
3. Co-ordinating Committee (CC), consisting of representatives of the formal national LTER networks
4. National Networks Representatives Conference (NNRC), consisting of representatives of formal and emerging national networks
5. Scientific Site Co-ordinators Conference (SSCC), consisting of all scientific LTER Site co-ordinators and LTSER Platform managers
6. Expert panels (EP) on:

• Science Strategy
• Information Management
• Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research Platforms
• Site Management
  
• Harmonization and Standardization
• Communication
• Technology