eLTER site catalogue

Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) is an essential component of world-wide efforts to better understand ecosystems and the environment we belong to and depend on. Through research and long-term observation of representative sites in Europe and around the globe, LTER enhances our understanding of the structure and functions of ecosystems, which are indispensible for people’s life and well-being. The eLTER Site Catalogue presents 150 European eLTER Sites (foci for long-term ecosystem observation and research) and eLTSER Platforms (large areas facilitating socio-ecological research), forming about a third of the total European sites.Each site is described in one page, providing a description of the site, the main ecosystems represented, the site’s research purpose(s), its location, research topics and the facilities available to support research. The catalogue is illustrated throughout with photographs from the sites. The eLTER Sites and eLTSER Platforms featured in the catalogue are distributed across 22 European countries and were included in the Horizon 2020 eLTER project (Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem and Socio-Ecological Research Infrastructure, 2015-2019), a collaboration between LTER-Europe and the European Critical Zone Observatories. The aim of this catalogue is to showcase the wide range of eLTER Sites and eLTSER Platforms in Europe, and to attract prospective researchers to use the sites for research, either in-person or by accessing the many environmental datasets available. The eLTER Site Catalogue is based on, and links with, the extensive metadata on global LTER sites available via the Dynamic Ecological Information Management System Site and Dataset Registry (DEIMS-SDR).