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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

The ORACLE observatory is located 70 km East of Paris, France. Most of the area, in a sedimentary basin, is made of a relatively flat plateau (Alt. 140 m a.m.s.l.), which is incised by the Grand Morin and the Petit Morin rivers (Alt 100m). Several aquifers are associated with layered tertiary formations (Eocene and Oligocene). The Morin Rivers are affluents of the Marne River, known to have contributed to large historical floods in Paris in the 20th century. The observatory is mainly rural (76%) with small towns, villages and hamlets, the whole covering 7% of the area. Forests cover up to 20% of the area. The dominance of agricultural activity within the catchments means that diffuse pollution is regarded as the main environmental pressure. Several perennial device of environment observation are installed since 1962. This site is used for multivariable observations (water cycle, water quality, biodiversity, agricultural practices, sociology…) and multiscale observations (from the canopy to the aquifer, from one m² to 1200 km²). Temporary observations also exist, like soil property measurements, remote sensing data, depending on the specific collaborative projects between different research and operational units. These two observation approaches, the perennial and the temporary ones, are a real advantage to investigate environmental issues. The Observatory and its embedded sub-catchments allow to conceptualize the change in scale and to study sub-catchments with different behaviors.

The site comprises 4 plots installed in an oak and beech forest of 60 ha: 2 plots are in pure stands dominated either by oak (1.22 ha) or by beech (0.88 ha) and the two other plots are in mixed stands of contrasted densities (1.05 and 1.75 ha). All the stands are close to each other and are in very similar ecological conditions.

The Pürgschachen Moor is located on the bottom of the Styrian Enns valley, about 1.5 km southwest of the village Ardning in the district of Liezen at an altitude of 632 m a.s.l. It is a pine peat bog with a present extent of about 62 ha. Thus, it is the biggest (to a large part) intact valley peat bog of Austria with a closed peat moss cover and a good example of the formerly widely distributed peatlands of inner-alpine valleys. The peat bog site is property of the Benedictine monastery Admont and is leased to the Moorschutzverein Pürgschachen for an indefinite period of time. An EU Life-project were conducted in the years 1995 to 1998. Since 1991, the peat bog is part of the international and intergovernmental treaty of the Ramsar Convention, constituting a convention on wetlands for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. As a part of the network of nature protection areas Natura 2000 the site is protected as European nature reserve and mentioned as Important Bird Area. Genesis of such valley floor bogs is owed to the incurrence of postglacial lakes on impermeable loamy clay. The open water surfaces silt up due to the sedimentation of dead plant material. Therefore, peat bogs with a peat depth up to 6 meters could evolve from these terrestrialisation mires in the course of time. Mean average temperature of Admont is 6.6°C, annual precipitation is 1400 mm (1971-2000). The typical vegetation of the peat bog is constituted of the three associations of plants Pino mugo-Sphagnetum magellanici (pine peat bog association), Sphagnetum magellanici (coloured bog moss association), and Caricetum limosae (bog sedge association), depending on the prevailing hydrological (local) site conditions. The peat material of the peat bog can be separated into three different peat layers: Muddy-peaty deposits, Carex-rich Sphagnum-Eriophorum-peat, and Ericaceous-poor Sphagnum-Eriophorum-peat. The focus of our research at the study area Pürgschachen Moor is the investigation of carbon fluxes and a full carbon balance measured by eddy covariance technique. Based on the sampling of undisturbed peat cores potential gas releases measured in the laboratory can be compared with the data measured in field. The examination of peat properties, water table measurements, vegetation surveys, and climate data are further important variables. The Pürgschachen Moor is the first peat bog in the Alpine region getting investigated in detail regarding its carbon budget and is supposed to provide extensive information for the assessment and differentiation of alpine peat bogs.