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Dijleland covers a study area containing the 3 individual LTER sites of the Doode Bemde, Forest of Meerdaal and the Nature Reseve Rode Forest and Laan Valley.

This research site develops long-term ecological studies in experimental units located in public and private areas throughout the Rio Iguaçu Basin, Paraná State, southern Brazil. The site exists since 1999 and research areas are continuous and uninterrupted monitored since then. The main research focus is the generation of ecological knowledge about the process of regeneration and growth of the forest related to demographic processes and environmental changes and in response to human disturbance impacts.

The LTER-TRAN site is located in the transition between the Cerrado and Amazonia biomes, in a region called "arc of deforestation", that suffers strong impacts by the agriculture expansion. The site include 10 subsites (Bacaba, Vera Cruz, Tanguro, Santa Marta, Floresta, Araguaia, Santana, Serra das Araras, Guaporé and Tangará), in five municipalities of Mato Grosso and Pará states. The base-site is located at the Bacaba Municipal Park, in eastern Mato Grosso, where areas are being monitored since 1996, to evaluate the temporal and spatial changes of the vegetation (forests and savannas) and streams, allowing to understand the natural dynamic processes and the changes resulting from human actions. Legal reserves areas in farms and flooded forests of the Araguaia State Park are also being monitored. Social-environmental studies and intensive educational actions complement the activities of this site.

La Palma an island of volcanic origin, is characterized by high topographic complexity, steep slopes and high substrate mobility. Intense precipitation results in mudflows and thus, the loss of fertile soil with all its ecological and socio-economic consequences.   The endemic pine Pinus canariensis cover large parts of La Palma and the other Canary Islands. It stabilizes the soil with its long and sturdy roots and thus prevents large regions to loose fertile soils. The same is true for other endemic, shrub and herbaceous plant species. A major portion of these endemic species preferably grows on steep slopes and rocky outcrops and is therefore especially critical for soil stability. Today the whole island of La Palma is under the status of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, after initially in 1983 the laurel forest of Los Tilos was established as a first biosphere reserve, which was the first on all Canary Islands. It is an outstanding fact that in this reserve a complete terrestrial surface is pro­tected including large surfaces of absolutely pristine ecosystems and a legacy of human influenced habitats. Since 2011 the island represents the first UNESCO starlight reserve worldwide. The central part of the island is preserved as a national park “Caldera de Taburiente” established as early as 1954.

The Desert Ecology Plot Network is located in the Simpson Desert in central Australia. The vegetation in the study region is dominated by hard spinifex (Triodia basedowii E. Pritz), with scattered small woodlands of Georgina gidgee (Acacia georginae F.M. Bailey) interspersed throughout (Figure 9.1). The long-term plots for which data are provided as part of LTERN infrastructure are all located within the spinifex hummock grasslands, but additional survey plots, situated in gidgee woodlands, exist and have been surveyed since 2006 and are revisited whenever possible. Temporal visits are conducted annually. The Desert Ecology Plot Network was a member of Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN), Australia, a facility of the Australian Government's Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN).

The Nature Reserve Rode Forest and Laan Valley is a diverse site, covering a small rivulet valley (river Laan) with grasslands and marches, and the adjacent plateau forest of Rodebos. The forest on the plateau consists of acidophylous oak-beech forests. The slope forest habitats are influenced by an aquifer that feeds slope sources. Hydrochemically, the water of this aquifer can be characterized as acid and nutrient poor. The slope displays an acid tolerant vegetation with Sphagnum as well as a more neutrophilic Querceto-Carpinetum. Lower on the slope, also base-rich sources are present, resulting in neutrophylous spring and alluvial forest. The research in this LTER-site focuses primarely on ecohydrology of this forest ecosystem, and forest dynamics in two sampling areas (resp. 1ha and 0.5 ha) within the unmanaged strict reserve area in the northern part of the reserve (23 ha). consists of a valley part, a slope part and a plateau part.

The Negev Highlands (NH) LTSER platform is situated between the Sinai Peninsula to the west and the Arava – Dead Sea depression to the east. This is a rocky terrain, covering an area of 17,000 sq. km with series of ridges at an altitude of 400-1000 m above sea level. As part of the Saharo-Arabian desert belt, the climate across the NH is arid to hyper-arid region: January’s mean daily temperature is 10 °C and July’s mean daily temperature is 25 °C The potential evaporation is approximately 2200 mm/y, and mean annual precipitation is 70–130 mm, with large inter annual variations. The rainy season occurs during the winter months, from November to March. The area is rich with unique natural landscapes. One of the most prominent of these are the Makhteshim, which is the largest erosion craters in the world. In addition to its unique landscapes, it is also a habitat for various species of flora and fauna that are adapted to arid zones and highlands, some of which are endemic to the area. The Negev Highland LTSER platform includes two LTER sites: Avdat Site in the arid zone and Makhtesh Ramon site in the hyper arid zone. Archaeological remains indicate that humans lived in the area for at least 1.4 million years. Today, about 10,000 residents live here, in towns, agricultural communities, small Bedouin tribal villages and tourist-agricultural farms. Most of it is concentrated along the main route (Route No. 40), while much of the area beyond the roads is either designated nature reserves or firing zones. The two main livelihoods in NH today are agriculture - mainly vines and olives, and tourism; Both are greatly affected by climate change. Agriculture relies on desalinated seawater imported into the area. However, it is affected by the climate in several ways: 1) flash floods cause increased soil erosion. 2) Long periods of drought during the winter, cause increased evaporation and therefore large water consumption. This is when the price of water is the main expense of the farmers, and increasing it may make agriculture unprofitable. 3) The uncertainty regarding the amount of precipitation and their timing, characterizes the arid environment. Recent climate changes are increasing this uncertainty and therefore make it very difficult for farmers to plan their land cultivation and expenses. Climatic uncertainty poses a significant challenge also for tourism operators; Jews and Bedouins, as well. This is due to the multiplicity of events of extreme climatic conditions (extreme cold or extreme heat), which repel tourists from reaching the area. And, a multitude of years when there is not enough precipitation to generate the famous spring bloom of the area. For the past 7 years, the NH LTSER's researchers have been working closely with three stakeholder groups in the area: winegrowers in the valleys, the Negev Highlands Tourism Association and Bedouin tourism operators. In Green Transformation we will actively engage with this group, through tow case studies: 1) The Desert Miracle farm - which will serve as a monitoring and dissemination knowledge farm; In a collaboration with the owner of the farm, R and D agriculture in the NH and the Center for Flood Research (DSASC). 2) Tourism in the NH; In collaboration with the NH Tourism Association. Through joint work with these NGOs, we will develop a long-term monitoring program and educational materials. The topics we will deal with: reducing soil erosion and increasing soil moisture, by using appropriate agricultural methods to multiply flash floods, which will be distributed to additional farmers in the area through activities at the monitoring farm. and to tourists through workshops of the Tourism Association. In the case of tourists, the aspect to be monitored is the number of tourists who come to the area in relation to the weather conditions. Together with the Tourist Association we will develop tourist-monitoring system. The high sensitivity of the arid region to climate change and the great exposure of the impact of these changes on animals, plants and humans, invite possible tourist-educational activities aimed at transformation in ways of thinking and behaving. An environmental education program and educational tools will be developed together with the Tourist Association. Their impact will be monitored in collaboration between the NH LTSER platforms researchers and tourism operators.

Covers an elevational gradient from 0 to 2,200 m in the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range, with high elevation grasslands (campos de altitude), cloud and lowland rainforests in the Atlantic Forest biome. In the lowlands it includes fragmented landscapes due to deforestation occurred in the last 500 years, with a variety of land uses in the matrix were fragments are inserted. Long term studies and monitoring actions focus on the effects two main factors: effects of climate change and land use. Presents high species richness, embracing a National Park (Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos), a state park (Parque Estadual dos Três Picos), a private reserve (Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçu), and other federal and state protected areas.

The site comprises 4 km stretch of a complete alluvial floodplane managed as a private nature reserve some 10 kilometer upstream of the city of Leuven. Since 1990, human interference in the river channel has stopped resulting in a spontaneous meander evolution and roughening of the river channel. This has induced frequent (e.g. yearly) inundations, thus avoiding flood damage in the city of Leuven downstream and this without creating the usual storm basins.