FinLTSER (Finnish Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research network) aims to be an integrated, multi-functional, well-instrumented network of infrastructures for ecological and socio-ecological research and monitoring. FinLTSER is also a research network of scientists, collectively engaged in and dedicated to multi- and interdisciplinary long-term and large spatial scale research and monitoring in ecological entities including the human dimension. These long-term ecosystem research platforms support, enhance and promote the interdisciplinary investigation of long-term biodiversity and ecosystem processes at varying spatial and temporal scales. The long-term perspective helps to determine the impacts of drivers and pressures of environmental change and to investigate ecosystem processes and their response to environmental pressures. FinLTSER is also intentionally stressing socioecological and socioeconomic research components in the national and international LT(S)ER networks.

FinLTSER brings together the Finnish research sites and scientists that have conducted world-class research on long-term socio-ecological processes and problems into a coordinated Finnish research infrastructure, where the expertise and resources of both universities and main governmental research institutes are combined. FinLTSER network was established in 2006 and consists presently of nine highly instrumented sites/research platforms, representing the main ecosystems (marine, terrestrial, lake, sub-arctic, urban) in Finland. The core infrastructure of the FinLTSER infrastructure is formed of i) research stations of the universities of Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Oulu and Turku, ii)  research sites, instrumentation and long-term monitoring programmes of main governmental research institutes (Finnish Environment Institute, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, MTT Agrifood Research Finland), and iii) information management structures and databases of the participating universities and research institutes.The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) acts as coordination body of FinLTSER. FinLTSER is a part of international LTER-networks i.e. being a formal member both in the Europe-LTER and International LTER (ILTER) -networks. FinLTSER and LIFE WATCH were formally accepted as a key national-level Research Infrastructures (RI) and included into national RI-roadmap in December 2008. FinLTSER provides the Finnish contribution to observatories component (terrestrial and marine observatories) of the proposed European-wide LIFE WATCH initiative.

Global change forms a wide framework for the research in FinLTSER. The main research themes within the FinLTSER are climate change, biodiversity, ecosystem services, land use and sustainable development. Changes in their states have consequences on the ecological and socio-economical systems and therefore socio-ecological aspects need to be involved in the research. Research and monitoring themes within national and international LTER networks cover a wide spectrum of ecosystem studies, such as  research and monitoring related to the LTER-Europe and ILTER core areas (climate change, global water circulation, biogeochemical processes, changes in biodiversity)  and other ecosystem processes and disturbances, ecosystem services, societal and other socio-economic pressures on the functioning of the ecosystems, effects on the local communities of nature conservation and resource exploitation, and local environmental conflicts.  

More info:

www.environment.fi/syke/lter