The Lautaret-Oisans platform focuses on the study of socio-ecosystems and the critical zone of the alpine mountains. The research and observation sites are focused on three sub-systems: little-engineered high mountains; alpine pastures; and lakes, rivers and watershed heads. The platform is built around the Lautaret-Roche-Noire site (https://deims.org/8574370e-934e-418a-af63-e15f4cbc5084) and Lautaret Garden infrastructures.

Oulanka Research Station is part of the Infrastructure Platform and is situated in Kuusamo as a regional unit of the University of Oulu. The station is located in the Oulanka river valley within the Oulanka National Park (66°22'N, 29°19'E). The area lies within the boreal coniferous forest-zone (Taiga), where Norway spruce and Scots pine prevail. In the Oulanka river valley there are, also many alluvial meadows, stream mouths and crags supporting luxurious plant communities. The bedrock is calcium-rich in places. Bogs, fens and marshes as well as numerous springs, ponds and lakes, brooks and rivers characterize the landscapes. All these factors together create a diverse and exceptional rich environment with rich flora and fauna.In terms of temperature Oulanka has a continental climate. The coldest and warmest ever measured temperatures are -48.0°C and 32.1°C. The difference between the mean temperature of coldest (January, -15°C) and the warmest (July, 15°C) month is 30°C. The mean temperature for the whole year is c. -0.5°C (1967-2009).

The research station of Lautaret Garden is a set of infrastructures and human resources at the service of alpine environmental research, spread over two sites open all year round. One is located on the campus of the University Grenoble Alpes (dept 38), it is divided into greenhouses, arboretum, experimental zone. The other is located at the Lautaret pass (dept 05) at an altitude of 2100m. The site of altitude gathers an Alpine Botanical Garden, three buildings, an experimental zone and natural area. This structure provides field support for scientific projects, two laboratories, accommodation for 46 people, hydrology and climate data and also botanical expertise. It organizes, in its multimedia room and meeting rooms, trainings, thematic schools, conferences, seminars. The research themes developed mainly concern the ecology of environments in relation to climate, socio-ecosystems, adaptation of living organisms, the physical environment and biogeochemical cycles. Some projects have been carried out since 1980, others operate on a multi-year basis. The station also welcomes foreign researchers within the framework of the Transnational access.

Mountain site, alpine forests Sierra Nevada (Andalusia, SE Spain), is a mountainous region with an altitudinal range between 860 m and 3482 m a.s.l. covering more than 2000 km2. The climate is Mediterranean, characterized by cold winters and hot summers, with pronounced summer drought (July-August). The annual average temperature decreases in altitude from 12-16ºC below 1500 m to 0ºC above 3000 m a.s.l., and the annual average precipitation is about 600 mm. Additionally, the complex orography of the mountains causes strong climatic contrasts between the sunny, dry south-facing slopes and the shaded, wetter north-facing slopes. Annual precipitation ranges from less than 250 mm in the lowest parts of the mountain range to more than 700 mm in the summit areas. Winter precipitation is mainly in the form of snow above 2000 m of altitude. The Sierra Nevada mountain range hosts a high number of endemic plant species (c. 80; Lorite et al. 2007) for a total of 2,100 species of vascular plants (25% and 20% of Spanish and European flora, respectively), being considered one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean region. This mountain range has several legal protections: Biosphere Reserve MAB Committee UNESCO; Special Protection Area and Site of Community Importance (Natura 2000 network); and National Park. The area includes 61 municipalities with more than 90,000 inhabitants. The main economic activities are agriculture, tourism, cattle raising, beekeeping, mining, and skiing.

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 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/