SITES connects to Europa

The EU parliamentarian election is just completed. During the election debate science has been highlighted as one of the cornerstones of the European collaboration. Field-based research within systems ecology is an area that can strongly benefit from a common European funding to build and coordinate collection of data from field sites around Europe. This type of data is critical to understand current changes in ecosystems and consequences of these, as well as getting data to follow up on how we live up to the global goals. During this year a consortium within eLTER (Long-Term Ecosystem Research in Europe) has submitted two applications within the Horizon 2020-program for infrastructure. Decisions on funding’s will be announced in November.

“In the same way as SITES provides the opportunity for coordinated data collection in Sweden, we hope to secure the funding at the European level”, says Ulf Grandin at SLU, coordinator for LTER Sweden and connected to SITES.

SITES and the Swedish LTER network will, if funding’s are granted, join forces to make Swedish stations and sampling sites adapted and connected to eLTER.