progetto eLTER PLUS

Programme: H2020-INFRAIA-2018-2020 Integrating and opening research infrastructures of European interest

Project title: European long-term ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems research infrastructure PLUS

Acronym: eLTER PLUS

Duration: 01/02/2020 – 31/01/2025

Project budget: 9.999.989 euro

ISMAR budget: 41.354,93 Euro

Web site: https://elter-projects.org/elter-plus

Summary: Progress in understanding, managing and securing current and future ecosystem functions and services is challenged by fragmented and dispersed ecosystem research, operated using narrow disciplinary perspectives that prevent a holistic understanding of complex eco- and socio-ecological systems. The emerging European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI) was evaluated by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) as having high potential for closing this gap in the European RI landscape.

The primary objective of eLTER PLUS is to open and expand the research capacities and impact of eLTER by engaging current and new users and developing the operations of cross- and transdisciplinary research, exemplified in eLTER Site and Platform design and the RI’s Standard Observation framework. eLTER PLUS will execute a performance test of the emerging RI and assess and strengthen its operations in real time. It will further advance community building and provisioning of services as pursued by the H2020-funded eLTER INFRAIA Starting Community project and related projects.

Its focus is on making intensive use of 35 selected sites and platforms in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal ecosystems, combined with observational data from an additional 50 sites, for studying ecosystem and socio-ecological responses to globally-relevant environmental challenges in terms of ecosystem integrity and ecosystem services. Its Whole-Systems approach will derive meaningful scientific and policy-relevant information via co-designed, transdisciplinary research in collaboration with diverse stakeholders at local, regional and EU-scales. Concerted actions also focus on collaboration with peer RIs to maximize synergies, increase efficiencies and catalyze holistic understanding of ecosystem function, and on development of virtual laboratories where in-situ site data are linked with other data sources.

Contact person in ISMAR: Caterina Bergami, caterina.bergami@ismar.cnr.it

Partnership:

1. University of Helsinki (Finland)
2. Umweltbundesamt Gesellschaft Mit Beschrankter Haftung (Uba Gmbh) (Austria)
3. Suomen Ymparistokeskus (Finland)
4. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique CNRS (France)
5. Forschungszentrum Julich Gmbh (Germany)
6. Helmholtz-Zentrum fur Umweltforschung Gmbh – Ufz (Germany)
7. Polytechneio Kritis (Greece)
8. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Italy)
9. Europejskie Regionalne Centrum Ekohydrologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk (Poland)
10. Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (Sweden)
11. Institut Po Bioraznoobrazie I Ekosistemni Izsledvaniya Balgarska Akademiya Na Naukite (Bulgaria)
12. Senckenberg Gesellschaft fur Naturforschung (Germany)
13. Okologiai Kutatokozpont (Hungary)
14. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel)
15. Israel Institute of Technology (Israel)
16. Latvijas Universitates (Latvia)
17. Universitatea din Bucuresti (Romania)
18. Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (Slovakia)
19. Znanstvenoraziskovalni Center Slovenske Akademije Znanosti In Umetnosti (Slovenia)
20. Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior Deinvestigaciones Cientificas (Spain)
21. Biosense Institute - Research and Development Institute for Information Technologies in Biosystems (Serbia)
22. Fciencias.Id - Associacao Para a Investigacao e Desenvolvimento de Ciencias (Portugal)
23. Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (United Kingdom)
24. Universitaet fuer Bodenkultur Wien (Austria)
25. Eigen Vermogen Van Het Instituut Voor Natuur- En Bosonderzoek (Belgium)
26. Ustav Vyzkumu Globalni Zmeny Av Cr Vvi (Czechia)
27. Kobenhavns Universitet (Denmark)
28. Csc-Tieteen Tietotekniikan Keskus Oy (Finland)
29. Universita Degli Studi Di Milan (Italy)
30. Eidgenossichen Forschungsanstalt fur Wald Schnee und Landschaft (Switzerland)
31. Iceta Instituto De Ciencias, Tecnologias E Agroambiente Da Universidade Do Porto (Portugal)
32. Pensoft Publishers (Bulgaria)