Seto Inland Sea is the largest inland sea of Japan including more than two thousand islands. The complicated coastlines make multiple kind of habitats within a local seascape, which is a suitable environment for coastal marine organisms. Suo-nada and Aki-nada are parts of western part of Seto Inland Sea, especially including many natural and larger tidal flats and seagrass meadows with better condition, respectively. Main researches in the site include ecological researches on the biodiversity and ecosystem functionings of tidal flat and seagrass/algal beds have been conducted to monitor coastal environment and to secure the sustainable utilization of fisheries products.

Coastal sand dune

Stefanesti-oak represents an ICP-Forests level II plot, being chosen as core plot in Futmon Project. Main parameters investigated in this plot are: crown condition, air chemistry, biodiversity, terrestrial biomass, soil properties, total nitrogen input, phenology, meteorology. The main research topics are: pollution effects, ecosystem structure, biodiversity driven by land use, biodiversity driven by climate change, forest ecology

Grazing research site

Los esfuerzos de investigación se enfocan a la región del altiplano mexicano conocida como “El Tokio”, donde se distribuyen los pastizales gipsófilos y salinos en el noreste de México y la cual es reconocida como una región prioritaria para la conservación de especies de aves residentes endémicas y migratorias. El área se caracteriza por valles intermontanos en los cuales se presentan suelos con altos contenidos de yeso y carbonatos de calcio, así como pastizales de porte bajo que no rebasan los 15 cm de altura en promedio. En estos valles habita el perrito llanero mexicano (Cynomys mexicanus), especie clave en el ecosistema. La vegetación circundante a estos valles está caracterizada por matorrales de gobernadora (creosote bush) con elementos sobresalientes de Yucca. El área es fuertemente impactada por actividades agrícolas y ganaderas, las cuales se llevan a cabo desordenadamente y sin medidas de mitigación.

grain dominated catchment located in the south-eastern part of Norway, monitored by The Norwegian Agricultural Environmental Monitoring Programme

Los sitios están localizados a lo largo del bioma de pastizal semiárido que se extiende desde el norte del estado de Chihuahua, hasta la subprovincia geográfica de los Llanos de Ojuelos en el noreste de Jalisco. Todos exhiben una vegetación de pastizal semiárido dominado por gramíneas cortas del género Bouteloua. La topografía se caracteriza por llanuras, mientras los suelos predominantes están clasificados como xerosol háplico asociado a litosol y xerosol háplico asociado con litosol y planosol éutrico; estos suelos son someros (menos de 50 cm de profundidad). El tipo de uso histórico ha sido de pastoreo, aunque existen algunas áreas donde se realizó agricultura de temporal.

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).

COAT Varanger is a subsite under the COAT platform located mainly on the Varanger penninsula in the low arctic. Long-term monitoring and research on tundra ecosystems are conducted on this site.

The Fray Jorge experimental site is located inside the Fray Jorge National Park, in the Region of Coquimbo. Its characteristic vegetation is Mediterranean and at the top of the coastal range exists evergreen temperate forests (cloud forests). The climate is Mediterranean with coastal influence.