The Hölstein site is located in in the eastern part of the Swiss Jura mountains (47°26’16.4’’, 7°46’31.1’’; 540 m a.s.l.), in a mixed, temperate forest with an exceptionally high biodiversity and a vigorous tree regeneration. The research plot has a size of 1.6 ha and comprises 540 mature trees. The main tree species are Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies with an admixture of Abies alba, Quercus petraea, Pinus sylvestris, Acer pseudoplatanus, Carpinus betulus, Fraxinus excelsior and Sorbus torminalis. A canopy crane is installed in the center of the research area to access the tree canopies for in situ measurements and for sampling of leaf material. Rainout shelters will be installed in 2019 for conducting a long-term throughfall exclusion experiment.

The LWF research programme provides, on the one hand, long-term data series from the last 20 years, together with a scientific interpretation to national and international policy makers. On the other hand, the available data and latest LWF infrastructure provide an attractive scientific platform for collaboration with both national and international partners. The site is located close to the city of Davos in the canton of Graubuenden, within a natural, coniferous forest stand which mainly consists of 200-390 year-old spruce (Picea abies) trees. Among others, the site is equipped with two meteorological measurement stations; one is located within the forest stand, the second is co-located in the nearby open-field, allowing to measure the forest stand effect on micro-climate. The following parameters are being measured (starting-end year): Atmospheric deposition (throughfall and bulk deposition) (2009-today), Circular vegetation plots (2008-today), Crown Condition Assessment (2006-today), Diameter and Height measurements (2004-today), EC-5 soil water content measurement (2008-today), EC-5 soil water content measurement (2008-today), Foliar analyses (2007-today), Leaf area index (LAI) (2008-today), Litterfall (2009-today), Manual circumference band measurement (2006-today), Matric potential (manual suction cups) (2009-today), O3 Injuries (2009-today), Ozone visible injury assessment (2009-today), Permanent vegetation quadrats (2008-today), Phenological observations (2009-today), Sapflow measurements (1998-today), Soil matrix chemistry (2007-today), Soil solution chemistry (lysimeters) (2010-today), Tree core sampling (), automated point dendrometer measurements (1998-today), automatic circumference band measurement (2006-today), Deadwood sampling (2009-today).

The site Bily Kriz (Bílý Kříž) is located in Moravian-Silesian Beskids Mountains. Ecosystem type: Managed secondary pure Norway spruce stand. Prevailing species: Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) Height of the stand: 17 m (2016) Understory: Vaccinium myrtillus L. Year of plantation: 1981 by 4 years old seedlings

The site is located next to Wettingen in the canton of Aargau, within a natural, mixed forest stand which mainly consists of 150 year-old beech (Fagus sylvatica) and 120-170 year-old spruce (Picea abies) trees. Among others, the site is equipped with two meteorological measurement stations; one is located within the forest stand, the second is co-located in the nearby open-field, allowing to measure the forest stand effect on micro-climate. The following parameters are being measured since 2013: Soil solution chemistry (lysimeters), TREENET, atmospheric deposition (throughfall and bulk deposition), circular vegetation plots, crown condition assessment, diameter and height measurements, foliar analyses, leaf area index (LAI), litterfall, manual circumference band measurements, Ozone visible injury assessment, permanent vegetation quadrats, phenological observations, sapflow measurements, soil matrix chemistry, tree core sampling, automated point dendrometer measurements, automatic circumference band measurements.

The HOBE experimental catchment is located in the western part of Denmark. The topography of the catchment is relatively flat. The surface elevations in the eastern part of the catchment are about 125 m above sea level at the Jutland ridge and gently decreasing to sea level elevations towards the coast. Alluvial outwash deposits in the form of sand and gravel dominate the central part of the catchment. Towards east, glacial deposits of moraine till are present with a higher content of clay. Also the remnants from the Saale glaciation have higher clay content and the dominant sediment type at these locations is clayey sand. Overall the top sediments are highly permeable with little water retention capability and the stream flow is therefore dominated by groundwater inflow. Based on a classification of the topsoil four soil classes can be identified in the catchment. The by far most dominating soil type is fine/coarse sandy soil. The Quaternary deposits have a thickness less than 50 m in the eastern and central part of the area increasing up to 250 m towards west. The Quaternary deposits are underlain by Miocene sediments in the form of alternating layers of marine, lacustrine and fluvial deposits forming layers of clay, silt, sand and gravel. Further below thick layers of Paleogene clay are found with little permeability and thus acting as a lower impermeable boundary for the aquifer systems. The sand and gravel layers from the Quaternary and Miocene periods form interconnected aquifer systems. The land surface of the catchment is predominantly agriculture and due to the sandy soil characteristics extensive irrigation of the agricultural crops takes place. Based on satellite data the land-use distribution is estimated as follows: grain and corn (55%), grass (30%), forest (7%), heath (5%), urban (2%) and other (1%). The climate of the observatory is of maritime origin and influenced by weather systems coming from the Atlantic Ocean. The weather conditions are variable with frequent precipitation. The prevailing winds from west lead to relatively mild winters and cool summers. The mean annual precipitation is about 1050 mm/year. It varies over the season with highest amounts in the months of October-December and lowest in the months of April-May. The mean annual temperature is 8.20C. The highest mean monthly temperature is in August (16.50C) and the lowest in January (1.40C). Precipitation in the form of snow is highly variable from year to year; in some years, no snowfall occurs and in others, it may stay on the ground for months.

The LTER-site of Brasschaat is a 2 ha scientific zone in a first generation plantation (1929) of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) on former heathland located in a mixed coniferous/deciduous forest in the Campine plain of Flanders. The landscape is flat, with a gentle (0.3%) slope at a mean elevation of 16 m. To the South and East, the forest extends over 2 km before turning into rural, partially forested terrain. The site is equipped with a measuring tower and an intensive forest monitoring plot (ICP Forests level II). The site is also part of an ICOS monitoring site which is operated by the University of Antwerp in collaboration with the Research Institute for Nature and Forest. The air pollution characteristics at this site are typical for a suburban forest exposed to vehicle emission (NOx), which is strongly affecting the NO-NO2-O3 chemistry. The site is, additionally, located in the waste plume derived from stack emissions (SO2, NOx, black carbon) generated by the petrochemical refinery in Antwerp port. Although no important agricultural emission sources are present in close proximity to the site, ammonia levels are elevated when winds blow from the eastern wind sector (due to remote agricultural activities > 5 km). The monitoring of air pollutants will be continued with special focus on chemical and biological recovery of the forest ecosystem from historical elevated sulphur and nitrogen depositions. Also the research on the combined effects of ozone, nitrogen and climate change on forest ecosystem functioning (gross primary production) will be emphasized.

Mols Bjerge National Park or Nationalpark Mols Bjerge is a Danish national park in the area known as Mols Bjerge (lit.: Mols Hills) in Syddjurs Municipality, Central Jutland, inaugurated on the 29th of August 2009. The protected area, measures 180 square kilometres (69 sq mi) in size. The Mols Hills, reaching a height of 137 metres (449 ft), are centrally located in the park, and take up 2,500 ha. "More than half of all wild Danish plant species" can be found at Mols Bjerge. The park comprise most of the southern parts of the headland of Djursland. It is bounded on the east by the sea of Kattegat, the forests of Kaløskovene in the west and to the south by multiple inlets, coves and plains of glacially generated moraine. The town of Ebeltoft, along with villages and summer house residence areas, are considered part of the park. Land in the national park is held under both private and state ownership. Nearly 33% of the park is cultivated and 80% of the hill area is under private ownership. Mols Bjerge National Park has a rolling and widely varying topography of woodlands and open countryside, created with the end of the last ice age. Elevation in the park area varies in height rising to a maximum of 137 metres (449 ft) in Mols Hills, with many types of habitats such as heath, forests, pastures, bogs, meadows, a variety of coastal habitats and sea

The Cathedral Peak research catchments in the northern uKhahlamba Drakensberg mountains, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa have been a focus of observation research since the 1940’s. The Drakensberg mountains which fall in the grasslands biome, are a crucial water source area for South Africa, owing to the relatively high rainfall and ratio of rainfall to runoff conversion in this region. This portion of southern Africa's grassland biome also supports phenomenal levels of biodiversity. The research catchments themselves are primary, headwater catchments that fall within a protected area. The catchments were initially established to investigate the influence of various land management treatments on water but over time the research has broadened to a more interdisciplinary focus incorporating carbon–water–energy–biodiversity and the dynamics between these. Although the core of the observation and monitoring is sited in the catchments, the research extends beyond the protected area into communal, state, and privately owned lands. The land beyond the protected area is valued for agriculture, ranging from subsistence agriculture in impoverished villages to large-scale commercial agriculture. Scientific work in the landscape continues to grow and expand.

Beech forest in the Central italian Apennines

The Hyytiälä SMEAR II site (Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations) is situated in the Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station of the University of Helsinki. The site consists is a managed, 60-yr old Scots pine forest stand. The main idea of SMEAR type infrastructures is continuous, comprehensive measurements of fluxes, storages and concentrations in the land ecosystem–atmosphere continuum. The forest measurements are operated continuously since 1996, and include e.g. leaf, stand and ecosystem scale measurements of greenhouse gases, volatile organic compounds, pollutants (e.g. O3, SO2, NOx) and aerosols, in addition to full suite of meteorological measurements. The biogeochemical cycles and vegetation–soil–atmosphere interactions are studied both experimentally and with long-term observations. The site has full carbon, water and nitrogen budgets made over 10 years, and it is a full ICOS ecosystem and atmospheric station. Ecosystem and atmosphere measurements also exist nearby in two open oligotrophic fen sites and a humic lake with forested catchment. Most of the measured data can be retrieved from: https://smear.avaa.csc.fi/