The Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research (SBC LTER) site is an interdisciplinary program established in 2000 to understand the ecology of coastal kelp forest ecosystems. Our research is focused on the nearshore waters of southern California, where ocean currents and climate are highly variable with season and longer-term cycles, including the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. SBC’s principal study domain is a 10,000 square kilometer area of the northern portion of the Southern California Bight that includes the Santa Barbara Channel and the steep coastal watersheds, small estuaries and sandy beaches that border the Channel.

The study of the physical–chemical parameters in the Mar Piccolo of Taranto, begun since the first years of the last century. In these selected studies physical–chemical characterization of marine water and sediments were carried out in the first and second inlet of the basin. In marine water, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and orthophosphates were determined. In sediments physical–chemical parameters included: water content, organic matter, total nitrogen and total phosphorous, pH, red-ox potential and grain size classification. Moreover, different micropollutants were also evaluated: heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Al V and Fe) and Arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), organochlorinated pesticides and organotin compounds. These studies demonstrate the important role of water monitoring studies in the semi-enclosed basin of the Mar Piccolo with lagoon features, characterized also by mussel farming activities. Moreover, in addition to the trophic conditions of the area, data obtained from sediments characterization allow us to evaluate the possible contaminants transfer along the food chain, in order to protect human health by consumption of seafood products

In 1998 a permanent plot (50 x 50 m) was established on the slope of the Nosal Mountain at the height of 970 m asl in 120 year old spruce stand, where in the 120-year-old spruce stand bulk deposition, throughfall and soil solution are collected. The investigations of health status of trees and floral characteristic have been carried out since 2001. The analyses are carried out in a certified laboratory of the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, Katowice (Certificate No AB 325). The basic meteo data are taken from the monitoring station located at Kuźnice (about 1 kn from the plot).

The Gulf of Olbia is situated on the eastern coast of Sardinia. Morphologically, it is a typical ria, long 5 km, wide 2 km and with a total area of 600 ha, a mean depth of 5 m and a maximum depth of 10 m. The gulf receives a freshwater flow from the Padrongianus River in its southern part. The town of Olbia, located in the inner part of the Gulf, is one of the most important passenger harbors in the Mediterranean (about 4 million passengers per year) with in addition a commercial and an industrial harbor. It is also the largest mussel- and clam-farming area in Sardinia (5000 t yr−1). Mussel and clam farming is strongly affected by the presence of toxic algae. Since the early 1990s, the Gulf of Olbia has been monitored with respect to its trophic state and phytoplankton abundance and composition, in particular, the presence of toxic or harmful species of genus Alexandrium (Dinophyceae). However, the first data were collected in 1987, in connection with a discoloration event due to phytoplankton and with an extensive fish death. A long-term series of data is available and derives from high-frequency measurements and samplings to assess environmental and biological parameters. In particular the data concern the main trophic descriptors (Secchi depth, temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and saturation, alkalinity, NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N, total nitrogen, soluble reactive phosphorus, total phosphorus, dissolved silica) and phytoplankton abundances, as chlorophyll a, cell densities and biomass, class and species composition. Data collection started in 1992 for only phytoplankton data, then, other environmental variables are added in 1996, with some time gaps of various sizes up to 2008. The collection of only phytoplankton data has continued without interruption since 2008.

None

The Brenna monitoring site in the Silesian Beskid (Polish part of the West Carpathians) was established in 1991 and consists of a monitoring station (meteo parameters and air pollution level) at the elevation of 865 m a.s.l. and 7.5 ha and 50 ha catchments at the elevation of 750 m a.s.l under old spruce stand being under reconstruction.The main goals of the monitoring programme is the investigation of: ● Response of spruce stands to air pollution and forest management practice in the mountain area which has been influenced by emissions from the industrial complexes of Silesia and the Czech Republic ● The balance of nutrients in a small mountain catchment. ● Changes in floral characteristics These monitoring activities have been continuing and moreover, the effect of forest management (falling, skidding) on soil (erosion) is monitored. In 2016 the Particulate analyzers (PM10/PM2.5) (The Model 5030 Synchronized Hybrid Ambient Real-time Particulate SHARP Monitor) were installed at the station to measure the inflow of pollutants from industrial regions.Equipment for meteorological measurements is as follows: Barometr LB-716, Thermohigrometer LB-710R, Wind Speed Meter LB-746, Pyranometer PQS1, Thermometer LB-711 (air and soil), Pluviometer RG50A. Additionally, continuous measurements of ozone have been carried out since the nineties (Monitor Thermo Scientific).

Reservoir of Riga Hydropower station (Riga Hydroelectric Power Plant). The Riga Hydroelectric Power Plant was put into operation in 1974. In order to build Riga HES, a dam was constructed across the Daugava River through the middle of Doles Sala, half of which has since been flooded to make room for Riga Reservoir. Along with Doles Sala, there have been several other smaller islands drowned in order to fill the reservoir. The dam was built in the late 1970s.

Röbäcksdalen research station was established 1954 and contains a field station and a dairy barn. The field station offers the ability to perform field research in a variety of areas such as agricultural science, biology, agroecology, soil science and environmental science. At the infrastructure it is possible to do research in a variety of areas such as animal science, agricultural science, ecology, phenology, climatology, geochemistry, biology, agroecology, soil science and environmental science. Visitors and users of the infrastructure can get access to the land and a stream collecting drainage and surface runoff-water from the area, animals in the dairy facility, workshop, machines, measuring equipment and techniques, personnel, laboratories and working stations. All data that is gathered within the infrastructure can also be available for the user, most of with is continuously collected data, data from feeding trials, climate data, soil data, data from water samples of runoff-water, data from the catchment area around the station as well as GIS data and data from different long-term-trials. The predominant soil type at the experimental fields is sandy-silt, which is characterized by good water holding capacity and high capillarity, hence the crops seldom suffer from drought here. The humus content is high (3-6%) which means that the soil is not so dense, something that otherwise might be a problem for this soil type. Sandy soil is present in limited areas. We are active in four different locations in northern Sweden. At Röbäcksdalen we manage the station and on the other sites we collaborate with Lantmännen Lantbruk at Lännäs (Västernorrland), Torsta AB at Ås (Jämtland) and Hushållningssällskapet Norrbotten och Västerbotten at Öjebyn (Norrbotten). The dairy barn was built in 2006 and has around 105 dairy cows of the breed Swedish red. The barn can e.g. be used for feed trials and among the equipment are two Greenfeed units that measure greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by the animals. The inclusion of the barn also offers farm scale studies of e.g. production of GHG or N or P flows.

The "Istituto Scientifico Angelo Mosso" research site is located on the watershed between Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta (NW-Italy), in the Municipality of Alagna Valsesia (Monte Rosa massif). The Scientific Laboratories of the "Angelo Mosso Institute" at Col d’Olen (2901 m a.s.l.), the heart of this research site, were built between 1905 and 1907, when it became clear that the Capanna Regina Margherita on Monte Rosa (4554 m a.s.l.), as a high-elevation research centre, had become insufficient to the increasing number of requests for use by the international scientific community. From here the idea promoted by Angelo Mosso (1846-1910), professor of human physiology at the University of Turin, to add an additional structure to the Observatory of the Capanna Regina Margherita for make larger laboratories available to researchers and allow study stays at high elevation. This project soon became a reality thanks to the intervention of Queen Regina Margherita, Ministries of Education and Agriculture, the Italian Alpine Club and various personalities of the time. The research conducted at the Institute did not concern only human physiology, but also other disciplines, including alpine meteorology and glaciology, thanks also to the presence of the Meteorological Observatory that flanked the Institute, directed in the years 1925-40 by Umberto Monterin. It is now home to an automatic snow and weather station, managed by the Alpine Troops-Meteomont service. In addition to the University of Turin, the research groups that operate at the site and contribute to data collection and implementation are currently CNR-IRSA, Alpine Troops Command-Service Meteomont, Monterosa 2000 SpA and Monterosa SpA (Monterosa Ski), Protected areas of Valsesia, ARPA Piemonte, ARPA Valle d'Aosta and Sesia Val Grande Geopark. In addition to the valuable historical series of climate data, a series of research activities are devoted to the study of snow-soil-vegetation interactions, with particular reference to carbon dynamics e soil nitrogen (Magnani et al. 2017a,b; Freppaz et al. 2019). In addition, investigations are performed focusing on the chemical characteristics of high-elevation surface waters, fed by different cryospheric features such as rock glaciers, glaciers, and permafrost (Colombo et al. 2018a,b; 2019a,b; 2020; Vione et al., 2021). New research lines, aimed at investigating the most recent environmental challenges, have been added to the previous ones. For instance, investigations on sources and routes of atmospheric carbon and nitrogen species are ongoing. References: Colombo N. et al. (2018a), https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4257. Colombo N. et al. (2018b), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.098. Colombo N. et al. (2019a), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.233. Colombo N. et al. (2019b), https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-019-0670-z. Colombo N. et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104700. Freppaz M. et al. (2019), https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.34.30737. Magnani A. et al. (2017a), https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0016-037. Magnani A. et al. (2017b), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2017.03.007. Vione D. et al. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143464.

The LTSER Zone Atelier Bassin de la Moselle belongs to LTER-France network and is located in eastern France, Lorraine / Moselle. The ZAM acquires knowledge for better controls the impact of human activities on the quality of the water resources in Lorraine County (France), in the watershed of the Moselle River.