Critical analysis of the eLTER France network compliance with the Whole System Approach concept of eLTER Reseach Infrastructure

International audience

English. The European eLTER (Integrated European Long Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research (https://elter-projects.org/) Research Infrastructure (RI) has entered the ESFRI (European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructure) roadmap in 2018. The design and proposed organization of the RI are currently under discussion. One of the main pillars of eLTER RI will be the network of labeled sites that will provide a set of standard observations with harmonized protocols, documenting the various compartments (atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, socio-sphere) relevant to studies of the critical zone and (socio)-ecosystems with a Whole System Approach. These sites will also be able to host research teams (transnational access) to carry out specific experiments or test new sensors. The services that the sites will provide require long-term commitment from governments, in terms of investments, operating costs and human resources. The number of labeled sites per country will be limited. A national site selection strategy is therefore necessary. To help in the decision-making process, a critical analysis of existing sites within the eLTER France was conducted. The analysis focused on the currently measured variables and their conformity with the list of Standard Observations proposed by eLTER. First, a list of sites was drawn up, consisting mainly of small-scale observation sites or catchments area (less than about 10 km²). For each site, a list of measured variables and compartment was established, including the frequency and period of measurements. The measured variables were compared to eLTER SOs list and graphs were produced to determine which sites were most likely to meet the eLTER criteria.. Once the list of potential sites was established, meetings were held with their principal investigators to identity their willingness to be candidate, their fears and motivations. Synergy between several sites to achieve better compliance with eLTER standards was also assessed. For the sites that agreed to apply, a cost analysis was carried out to identify the investment and operating costs, as well as the human resources that would be required to apply for the eLTER label. This information provides objective elements enabling Research Performing Organization to decide whether to support the site for eLTER labelling and to identify the number of sites that could be labelled. The paper will present the methodology and illustrate the results for several sites.