The Tatra National Park was established in 1954 to protect the Polish part of the Tatra mountains: both the High Tatras and Western Tatras, plus the northern foothills of the range. The area of the Park is approx. 212 km2, with no formally established buffer zone. Since 1992, the Park has been included in the UNESCO MaB Reserve (covering both Polish and Slovak Tatras - please see its separate description as the "Parent site" here on this website). It is also also included in the Natura 2000 network: both as “bird” Special Protection Area (SPA) and “habitat” Site of Community Importance (SCI) - the code PLC 120001. The Park protects nature, landscape, and cultural heritage of the only truly alpine mountain range in Poland. Although currently devoid of glaciers (however, dotted with a number of beatiful mountain oligotrophic lakes instead) its geomorphology is largely a result of glacial activity which shaped its crystalline, metamorphic and sedimentary bedrocks. The mountains are characterized by climate, soils, hydrological features (mountain springs and lakes), caves and karst areas, and rich biodiversity typical of subalpine and alpine environments. Also characteristic are altitudinal vegetation zones / belts (described elsewhere in this profile), These vegetation zones span from mixed forests, through coniferous forests and dwarf pine to Alpine meadow communities, above which sparse vegetation endures among rocks and screes. About 2/3 of the Tatras are covered by forest ecosystems. Most important tree species are Picea abies and Abies alba, although Pinus sylvestris, Pinus cembra, Larix decidua and Pinus mugo occur as well, accompanied birch (Betula sp.) and rowan (Sorbus sp.). In mixed forests occurring at lower elevations, species of beech (Fagus sp.) and maple (Acer sp.) can be found. The Park's ecosystems can be divided into terrestrial forest ecosystems (occupying almost 13 000 ha), terrestrial non-forest ecosystems (approx. 7770 ha, 49 plant communities) and freshwater ecosystems (approx. 192 ha, out of which lakes occupy approx. 149 ha). As much as 60% of the Park is covered by habitats requiring conservation (32 types of habitats of Community importance) The Park is home to more than 10 000 species (approx. 5500 species of invertebrates, 290 - vertebrates, 1000 - vascular plants, over 1000 - fungi, 700 - lichens, 500 - mosses etc.). Out of them as many as 1000 are endemites. The Tatras are an important centre of endemic fauna and flora, including rare relic species. There are 35 endemic species mong flowering plants alone. Examples for regional endemic species are: Erysimum wahlenbergii, Cochlearia tatrae, Pulsatilla slavica and Erigeron hungaricus. The Alpine meadows are renowned for their diversity. About 300 plant species can be found there. Various species in the Alpine environments are interpreted as glacial relicts, e.g. Ranunculus alpestris, Ranunculus glacialis, Dianthus glacialis, Gentiana frigida, Primula minima and Saxifraga aizoides. In snowbed environments Salix herbacea and Salix reticulata are characteristic. The Tatra Mountains are famous for their large predator species such as the wildcat (Felis silvestris), lynx (Lynx lynx), wolf (Canis lupus) and brown bear (Ursus arctos), which are largely extinct in other parts of Central Europe. Characteristic bird species are the Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Eurasian nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes), rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo), Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and black grouse (Tetrao tetrix). An endemic subspecies of the chamois exist in the Tatra as well (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica). 29 animal and 6 plant species are species of Community importance. The site has code:LTER_EU_PL_017

A mosaic of savanna, dry forest, evergreen forest, and grassland most of them seasonally floodable by overflow of water from Cuiabá River. Regional climates is tropical wet and dry. Besides Cuiabá River, there are a large number of permanent water body widespread in the landscape, such as oxbow lakes and secondary river channels.

The site is located at 23ºS and 42ºW, in the city of Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro state. The area is influenced by the upwelling of SACW (South Atlantic Central Water), from approximately 300 meters depth, with temperatures ranging from 13 to 18 ° C. The occurrence of this phenomenon is due to topographical features, meteorological and hydrological, unique in this region. This upwelling has attracted attention because of the great fishing productivity, motivating many studies on this issue, especially on the oceanographic processes involved. This has led to the creation of the second Marine Extractive Reserve of Brazil, the RESEX-Mar Arraial do Cabo. The results coming from LTER RECA contributes to the consolidation of Extractive Reserve, through the provision of scientific information generated in different studies.

The Ploemeur-Guidel observatory (Britanny, France) is focusing on surface-depth relationships in a fractured crystalline geological context and oceanic climate. It is built on 2 sub-sites, one highly anthropized, the other in natural state. In Ploemeur, groundwater has been pumped since 1991, supplying more than 1 million m3 of clean drinking water annual at a sustainable rate. Such high productivity is explained the specific fractured network in granite and micaschists, draining deep geological layers (~400 m). Extracted water quality is very good, with limited nitrate concentration, in a region that has been strongly affected by widespread pollution. Guidel site is in a similar, but natural context. Deep iron-rich groundwater is upflowing, creating surface and deep groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and feeding a classified coastal wetland. Both sites have a very dense equipment to study rapid to long-term surface-depth exchanges: a flux tower, unsaturated zone monitoring, a network of ~50 shallow (<10m) and deep boreholes (>80m), hydrochemical, temperature and deformation. An well-characterized fractured experimental site offers the possibility to conduct experiments to test innovative instruments and develop new methodologies

Data on bird presence and abundance in Doñana is available since the 50ties, even before its protection. EBD-CSIC started standardized monitoring by aerial counts in the 70ties, initially focused on wintering birds but since de early 80ties counts are conducted monthly, and up to 50 bird species are identified in 52 counting areas within the marshes. Terrestrial bird count of main bird concentrations of Doñana have been conducted at the same time (both EBD-CSIC and Park Management) but were not standardized until 2002 by EBD-CSIC. Since then, monthly surveys have been conducted covering about 87 water bodies of the marshes and from fixed observation points (up to 196 water bird species are included). Additionally, each month, a transect (30 km) count of birds (all non-passerine species and Corvus corax) present at the beach and sea shore is done by car. Furthermore, during spring, colonial water bird nests are located and chicks ringed when possible. Several colonies have been monitored since the 80ties. Non-colonial waterbird nests are located monthly during the breeding season using linear transects on horse in the marshes, totalling about 65 km. These transects data are being collected since 2003. Earlier data on non-colonial breeding waterbirds are more disperse, although ringing activities have been done since the 70ties on regular bases.

The Pinios Hydrologic Observatory (PHO) covers an area of 53 sq.km and is situated within a complex geological/geomorphological environment with forest and agricultural landscapes dominating. PHO was established in year 2015 with the joint efforts of Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3) of Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany) and Soil & Water Resources Institute of Hellenic Agricultural Organization “DEMETER” (Greece), aiming primarily at developing deep knowledge of water balance at the river basin scale and to improve understanding of the major hydrodynamic mechanisms, thus to improve hydrological modeling and ultimately sustainable water resources management. Moreover, and since agriculture constitutes the major economic activity in PHO, agro-hydrology constitutes one of its top-priority research topics. PHO is located in the River Pinios basin (RPB), which is one of the most productive basins in Greece having a spatial extent of about 11,000 sq.km. RPB is facing a wide range of problems related to water resources management including groundwater overexploitation and quality deterioration triggered by prolonged droughts and poor management practices in the mid-1980s, which affect and jeopardize the regional socio-economic stability and growth. PHO is envisaging to investigate and address critical scientific questions on how to effectively preserve water and soil resources of the basin and to efficiently manage water availability on the basis of natural recharge occurrence.

PLANNED (as of August 2016) regular monitoring activities of the Park's Natura 2000 habitats are specified in the new Park Protection Plan (currently in the final project stage, pending final approval and implementation resolution by the Minister of Environment). They'll altogether comprise 32 habitats of Community Importance occurring in the Park, both forest and non-forest. The planned monitoring regime will involve appropriate monitoring grid/s of various resolutions (500, 250, 100, 1000 m - depending on the habitat) and established permanent observation plots according to the national biodiversity monitoring methodology applied countrywide by the Polish Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection (GIOŚ). The temporal regime: mostly every 5-6 years (sometimes every 3, 4 or 2 years). Usually the chief monitored parameter will be area of the habitat and its state (Natura 2000: FV, U1, U2), in some cases also presence and influence of invasive alien species. For the purpose of the Park's Protection Plan, nature inventory and assessment of the state of the above-mentioned 32 habitats, i.e. FV or U1 (no U2s or XXs, luckily) related to (a) habitat area, (b) habitat structure and function, and (c) future prospect - plus (d) the cumulative value - was conducted.

The Victorian Dry Eucalypt SuperSite is a member of the Australian SuperSite Network (SuperSites, http://www.supersites.net.au/), a facility within the Australian Terrestrial Ecosystem Network (TERN, http://www.tern.org.au/) and has two nodes (Whroo and Wombat). The Victorian Dry Eucalypt SuperSite - Whroo site near Shepparton was established in 2011. The vegetation is dominated by two main Eucalypt species: Eucalyptus microcarpa (Grey Box) and Eucalyptus leucoxylon (Yellow Gum). Smaller numbers of Eucalyptus sideroxylon (Ironbark) and Acacia pycnantha (Golden Wattle) are also found on site. The surrounding area includes the Whroo Historical area, and Rushworth State containing remnant native vegetation. Key research objectives include: • What are the elements of structure, composition, functions and processes of the dry eucalypt forests of South Eastern Australia required for the sustainable management of these ecosystems? • What is the carbon sink/source strength of a dry sclerophyll forest and what is their contribution to Australia’s National Carbon Inventory? • What is the magnitude of emission and/or uptake of non-CO2 greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane of dry eucalypt forest? • How will climate variability, drought or fire influence the ecosystem processes of dry eucalypt forest? . The site is on the lands of the Ngurai-illam-wurrung Aboriginal people.

The site is a managed realignement (Sea Wall Removal) combined with a land lowering to start estuarine development in a suitable tidal frame. The site was created in 2002 and monitored in an initial phase intensively. (aspects of morphology, sediment characteristics (including polluents), macrozoobenthos, vegetation and birds). Vegetation and birds are ongoing monitoring.

The Watershed Research and Experimentation of Real Collobrier is a privileged site for the observation and the study of the water cycle in the Mediterranean forest. It is a landmark site of the hydro regional climatology where many cognitive approaches have been carried out. Observation network allows the study of phenomena with a particularly fine scale, which makes it an ideal laboratory for the development of methodologies directly applicable in operation al hydrology. The watershed is instrumented since 1966. It has long chronic hydro-climatic data for fifty years, with 15 rain gauges and 7 flow gauges. Climatology and physico-chemical measurements are also carried out continuously. The multidisciplinary approach, associated with specific experiments, allows a deepening of our understanding of the interaction soil-water-atmosphere.