The Yzeron catchment (150 km2) is located to the south-west of Lyon city, France. It forms part of the Observatoire de Terrain en Hydrologie Urbaine (OTHU, 2011) long term observatory. It is representative of French periurban areas and is characterised by a marked topography. The outlet reaches the Rhône river at the elevation of 162 meters and the highest point culminates at 917 m above see level. The slope map calculated from a 25 m resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM), derived from IGN BDTopo® shows that more than 50% of the catchment has slopes larger than 10%. The geology is contrasted with crystalline formations (granite, gneiss ) in the western part of the catchment and more alluvial and glaciar formations in the eastern part. The land use is heterogeneous. The upstream and western part of the basin is limited by a range of hills covered with forests. The intermediate part is mainly covered with grassland and cultivated lands, mixed with urban nucleus. Thin green corridors remain along rivers, covered with deciduous trees. The downstream part is mainly covered with densely urbanized areas. A fast progression of urbanisation is observed since the eighties. The area is prone to sharp Mediterranean-type flood events due to its steep topography in the upstream part and limited soil water storage capacity overall. The water coming from combined sewer overflow devices is rich of sediments and pollutions, causing quality problems in the rivers, especially during summer storms, where most of the water reaching the river comes from urbanised areas via SODs. Increased erosion of the river banks has also been evidenced with impact on the ecosystems. The catchment is instrumented since 1997 in particular in two sub-catchments with different land uses (Mercier: agriculture and forest) and Chaudanne (agriculture and urban) with rainfall and discharge data. Some information about physico-chemical characteristics are also available.

Montados (or dehesas in Spanish) are traditional agro-forestry systems with a savanna type structure, characteristic of the Mediterranean Basin. In Portugal, Montados are mainly distributed in the southern half of the country where the climate is Mediterranean. Annual average precipitation is 600 mm and mean annual temperature is 15ºC, although there is a large variation within the area of distribution of this system. Cork oaks (Quercus suber) and holm oaks (Q. rotundifolia) are the dominant trees, forming pure or mixed stands, with holm oak being dominant in drier regions. Montados with natural or semi-natural pasture and extensive grazing are listed under the EU Habitats Directive (habitat 6310), and are key habitats of Special Areas of Conservation (Habitats Directive) and of Special Protection Areas (Birds Directive), which are part of the Natura 2000 network. Their multifunctional management promotes structural diversity at the stand and landscape level, which combined to a large distribution area and spatial continuity results in high-levels of biodiversity. They are also High Natural Value farmlands that simultaneously fulfill the three criteria considered for their delimitation by the European Commission, since they are dominantly related to a high proportion of semi-natural vegetation, to a mosaic of low intensity agriculture and natural and structural elements and to the presence of rare species (e.g. Lynx pardinus and Aquila pennata). Cork is the most important forest product from Montado systems, with Portugal producing 54% of the world cork. In addition to cork (harvested every 9-12 years), animal production in pastures also provide a source of income. The regulation of water and nutrient cycles and of soil erosion, as well as carbon sequestration are important regulating services to be managed in Montados. From a cultural and recreational perspective, Montados are valued for the landscape aesthetics, natural values and cultural heritage. Strategic actions have been put in place to conciliate human use and biodiversity conservation, such as the publication of national regulations that legally protect the cork and holm oaks. But the most significant one might be forest certification, which has been promoting practices of responsible forest management in more than 70,000 ha of Montado, around 30% of the total certified Portuguese forest area.

Processing of time series of satellite and airborne images, with different spatial and spectral resolution, in order to derive water quality maps based on physically based algorithms parametrised with specific optical properties of lake Garda. Generation of spatial and temporal information of different water quality parameters of surface water column and coastal zone. Dedicated actives of calibration and validation of satellite images, algorithms and products.

ICP forest monitoring plots: 0.5 ha of fenced stand + 20 m buffer area. Managment, data collection and reserch activities carried on by catholic university of Louvain (UCL)

NINA Aquatic Research Station, Ims provides advanced research facilities on aquatic research, primarily focused on fish ecology

The 25 km² Louroux catchment is located in central France. It is a typical lowland, intensively cultivated catchment with an 11th century pond at its outlet. As in many similar environments, this catchment underwent large landscape changes since the second half of the 20th century: implementation of drainage systems, stream redesign and land reallocation. This resulted in changes in sediment transfer processes and in widespread morphological alterations of water bodies. There is still little combined knowledge on the intensity, processes & sources of sediments in these environments although these are necessary to implement efficient mitigation strategies. Long term sedimentation rates are studied through analysis of sediments accumulated in the pond. Current suspended sediment fluxes are monitored with a high frequency through five hydrosedimentary stations. Fingerprinting techniques are used to trace the origin of sediments.

The LTSER Zone Atelier Loire belongs to LTER-France network. The ZAL studies the Loire River basin (127 000 km2) on a long term scale (-15000 years until today). It focuses on the functionning of the hydrosystem, the human societies living there and on the co-evolution hydrosystem – society. The LTSER hosts several study sites subjected to measurement or data collection campaigns during work involving different disciplines as well as managers around a key question. The Maine watershed site is a large area to study dynamics of a low-energy river draining a 22,000 km² basin. The Louroux (Indre-et-Loire) site includes operation of an agricultural catchment area (24 km²). The bog of la Guette (Cher, Sologne, 25 ha) is an instrumented site to follow the rehabilitation of eco-hydrological services (storage of carbon, hydrology, biodiversity). Mareau-aux-prés islands (Loiret, St-Mesmin, 13 ha) is a site subjected to river dynamics which allows to understand the impacts of works carried out in the dyked bed and dynamics of the landscapes.

The site is situated in the East Styrian lowlands and hills, the woodland community being an Oak-Hornbeam forest and was established in 1997. The main research questions center around (site) water balance and different patterns of water consumption of different tree species. In order to address the research questions, the site is instrumented with on-line registering climate stations as well as on-line soil water content measurements, soil temperature measurements as well as sap flow measurements. These data are complemented with data on soil physics, rooting densities, stand growth and LAI. Main results demonstrate very clear seasonal patterns, which may lead to drought stress of conifers (Norway spruce) resulting in unstable stands prone to secondary (f.e. insect) damage. So far the site has been used by three national and 2 international projects.

The site is a mixed mature forest composed mainly of Fagus Sylvatica, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Picea abies. The soil (100-150 cm deep) is a silty and stony soil with B structural horizon composed by schist and phyllades. Fluxes of CO2 and water vapour and micrometeorological measurements are performed above the forest by an eddy-covariance system installed on a tower since 1996. During the successive measurement years, several complementary campaigns have been organised : forest inventory, automatic soil respiration measurements, advection, ecosystem water budget, diffusion of CO2 and stable isotopes in soil, volatile organic compounds fluxes, soil carbon content inventory, monthly evolution of nitrogen deposition... Research activities are carried out by the University of Liège (GxABT) and the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) within the ICOS infrastructure.

Lake Garda has the largest volume (49 billions of cubic meters) and the most extensive area (368 km2) of Italian lakes. Along with lakes Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo and Idro, it forms part of the group of deep lakes located south of the Alps in one of the most densely populated and highly productive area of Italy. With a total volume of over 124 billions of cubic meters, these lakes constitute one of the largest freshwater supplies in Europe. Their waters are used for agriculture, industry, fishery and drinking. Moreover, they are an important resource for recreation and tourism thanks to both attractive landscape and water quality. In Lake Garda, sporadic studies were carried out irregularly by various Institutions up to the end of the 1980s. Since the beginning of the 1990s, continuous monthly samplings and measurements were carried out by the Department of Biology of the Padova University (Responsible, Nico Salmaso), with the collaboration of ARPAV. Since 2005 the whole limnological research is performed by the Limnological research group of the Agrarian Institute of S. Michele all’Adige – E. Mach Foundation (S. Michele all’Adige, Trento; coordinator, Nico Salmaso). Since the 1970s, Lake Garda showed an increase in the trophic status, with mean annual concentrations of total phosphorus in the whole water column increasing from ca. 10 µg P/L to 20 µg P/L. In the last 4-5 years of observations, TP showed a stabilisation of the concentrations, around 18 µg P/L. At the community level, annual phytoplankton cycles underwent a unidirectional and slow shift mainly due to changes in the species more affected by the nutrient enrichment of the lake. After a first and long period of dominance by conjugatophytes (Mougeotia) and diatoms (Fragilaria), phytoplankton biomass in recent years was sustained by cyanobacteria (Planktothrix). Other important modifications in the development of phytoplankton were superimposed on this pattern due to the effects of annual climate fluctuations principally mediated by the deep mixing events at spring overturn. Main specific research objectives in this LTER station include: -Changes in the physical, chemical and biological variables at different temporal scales, from months to decades and centuries (paleoecology). Update of the time series of hydrological, climatological and limnological data, whith special attention to lake evolution and effects on biotic communities in relation to ongoing climatic changes. Definition of predictive models. - Identification of the environmental and biotic mechanisms favouring the development of cyanobacteria (including the recent appearence of blooms and new species). Identification of the factors selecting for the development of toxic strains, the production and concentrations of epato- and neurotoxins, and their impact on trophic webs and water usability. The limnological field facilities of the limnological research group include 2 rubber dinghies, 2 multi-parameter probes, a fluoroprobe, a FlowTracker Handheld ADV Sonntek, underwater Quantum sensors, a Kajak corer and an Eckman dredge for sediment sampling. The unit also has several laboratories. These include the hydrobiology and microscopy laboratory, equipped for analyses of basic limnological variables (photosynthetic pigments, dry weight, dissolved oxygen, water turbidity, macrophytes) and of phytoplankton, picoplankton and periphyton samples (microscopes, invertoscopes, fluorescent microscopy, image analysis). The analytical and environmental chemistry laboratory is equipped for analysis of the major ions and nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen and silica), as well as organic molecules (with focus on cyanotoxins) by means of spectrophotometry, ion chromatography and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS). We have access to genetic laboratories equipped with the principal analytical tools, i.e. PCR, electrophoresis, and sequencing. The data collected at monthly frequency since 1991 includes water temperature and oxygen. Phytoplankton was collected since 1993, while complete data recording (including chemistry and zooplankton) begun in 1995.