1	International LTER Network an overview Brian Kloeppel Coweeta LTER Program University of Georgia USA
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4	ILTER Organization ILTER Chairperson: Hen-biau King (Taiwan) ILTER Executive Committee Western Europe - Christian Leveque (France) Central/Eastern Europe - Julius Oszlanyi (Slovakia) North America - Manuel Maass (Mexico) Central/South America - Jorge Jimenez (Costa Rica) East Asia/Pacific - Zhao Shidong (China) Southern Africa (ELTOSA) - Johan Pauw (S. Africa) ILTER Coordinating Committee Consists of one voting person from each ILTER member network ILTER Support Short-term support for a coordinator to insure success during transition - John VandeCastle (USA)
5	US Long Term Ecological Research Network
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8	Long-term research is necessary to reveal: Slow processes or transients Episodic or infrequent events Trends Multi-factor responses Processes with major time lags
9	Duration of all observational and experimental studies
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11	LTER research covers time scales from months to centuries
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13	Research Over Broad Spatial Scales Answers large scale questions concerning ecological phenomena Creates opportunities for comparisons between ecosystems across regional, continental, and global gradients Allows scientists to distinguish system features controlled by absolute and relative scales
14	Hypothesis-driven research The LTER community has identified several strategies for achieving synthesis science. In the committee’s view, the first and fundamental strategy must be the organization of LTER research a priori by hypotheses and theory, with networked data acquisition, analysis and testing by predictive models across broader and broader phenomena. [1]Twenty-year Review of the LTER Network 2002..
15	LTER Goals Understanding: Gaining ecological understanding of a diverse array of ecosystems Synthesis: Using the network of sites to create general ecological knowledge through the synthesis of information gained from long-term research Information Dissemination: Creating well designed, documented, accessible databases Legacies: Creating a legacy of well designed and documented observations and experiments Training: Developing a cadre of scientists equipped to conduct long-term, collaborative research Outreach: Providing knowledge to the broader ecological community, general public, resource managers, and policy makers
16	LTER sites share a common commitment to long-term research on the following core topics: Pattern and control of primary production Spatial and temporal distribution of populations selected to represent trophic structure Pattern and control of organic matter accumulation in surface layers and sediments Patterns and movements of inorganic inputs through soils ground- and surface waters Patterns and frequency of disturbance
17	Network Management
18	THE IMPORTANCE OF CROSS-SITE SYNTHESIS
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21	Network Information System Design and Development Virtually all of these synthesis efforts require the bringing together of diverse, long-term data sets, with associated problems of compatibility, coding, transformation, sorting, and searching. There is thus a particular need to establish within the next decade a program of logistical support for LTER-related synthesis efforts, with a focus on database development and informatics techniques optimized for ecological research. – 20-Year Review
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23	US ILTER Committee At present: 14 members, 2 co-Chairs elected for 2 years each Search for effective representation of skills, geographical coverage, and representation of the US LTER Network An evolving model to ensure full engagement of the US LTER in ILTER
24	ILTER Information on the Web ILTER Network Home Page www.ilternet.edu Links to ILTER Networks www.ilternet.edu/networks US ILTER Committee intranet.lternet.edu/committees/us_ilter/index.html