Definition, frames and interactions

1
1.
Long-term ecosystem research (LTER)and
Long-term ecosystem monitoring (LTEM)
Definition Research

• Definition, frames and interactions
• RichterM. Mirtl
• (Based on discussions of the LTER-Austria annual
  conference 2007)

2
2.
Does long-term ecosystem research exist?

• Long-Term Ecological Research"planned and
  tergeted search for new findings in a specific
  realm"
• Neuer Brockhaus, 2003
• Required
• Aim, Question, Hypothesis, .
• TIME SCALE? 3/6/10/30 years?

Definition Research
3
3.
Or do we talk about LTEM - Ecological long-term
monitoring?

• Monitoring Observing"continuous
  observation, control and measuring of the state
  and structure of a system"
• Meyers Online Lexikon Wikipedia
• OPEN Hypothesis driven in the light of an
  expanded time scale?
• Big international netzorks (GTOS, GOOS, UNECE,)

Definition Monitoring
4
4.
Research Monitoring Who needs whom?
LTEM

• Responsible bodies are mostly not Universities
• In most cases no explicit research component
  (competition, projects)
• Applied research
• Mostly carried out by Universities or similar
  institutions
• Thes institutions are not capable of maintainging
  long-term infrastructure and carry out long-term
  monitoring
• Basic science
• Without LTER no LTEM and vice versa?

LTER
5
5.
Example US-LTER
US-LTER

• Based on research sites (or stations)
• Experimental design (little monitoring)
• NSF finances infrastructure, not research
• competitive projects are the "backbone"
• hypothesis driven bottom-up principle
• Long-term funding
• No consistent spatial design lack of monitoring
  data
• kingdome syndrom lacking LTSER approaches

Plus
Minus
http//www.lternet.edu/
6
6.
Example NEON
NEON

• New concept ammendment to LTER (in the
  principle)Continental network
• ONLY monitoring - LTEM
• Questions related to big Global Change issues
• Funding from NSF approx. 50 universities
  industry!!!
• top-down explicit spatial desing
• Entirely free data access
• partly hypothesis driven
• ??? others

Plus
Minus
http//www.neoninc.org/
7
Does LTER-Europe have the minusses of both??????
7.
8
Vision for LTER-Europe?
7.
EcosystemResearch
Monitoring
Partnership LTER-Europe
Socio-ecologicalresearch
Infrastructure