eLTER
March 19, 2026
European long-term ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological systems research infrastructure (eLTER)
The Integrated European Long-Term Research Infrastructure for Ecosystems, Critical Areas and Socio-Ecological Systems (eLTER ERIC) is a European research infrastructure that aims to study ecosystems across Europe to address environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. It integrates data from over 500 sites, providing comprehensive datasets on ecosystem changes and supporting scientific, evidence-based policy decision-making. Since 2015, 24 countries, including Latvia (the University of Latvia), have been working on the establishment of eITER ERIC, but in order to officially become a member of this consortium, each country must meet certain requirements by reorganizing its national eLTER networks. This year, 10 European countries have officially joined eLTER ERIC. In order for Latvia to become a full member of eLTER ERIC, our task in the context of reorganization is to expand the national eLTER consortium, involving as partners research groups that have so far conducted long-term environmental and ecological research at the largest universities in Latvia. This task is carried out by the University of Latvia, involving partner groups in training workshops on eLTER ERIC and organizing conferences on long-term environmental and ecological research in Latvia.
The conference “Long-term environmental and ecological research in Latvia” is planned for March 20 at the University of Latvia Nature House, Jelgavas Street 1, Riga, auditorium 336/335 at 12.05–15.30. The conference plans to present papers on the current affairs of the European Long-term Ecological Research Network, long-term hydrobiological studies in Lake Engure, the Riga HPP reservoir and Salaca, in the middle reaches of the Daugava, multi-year studies in the ILTER territory of the Gulf of Riga, assessment of atmospheric air pollution with heavy metals in mosses in Latvia, monitoring of the impact of air pollution on forest ecosystems in Latvia since 2004, and long-term studies of the ecological restoration of semi-natural grasslands in Latvia: plant species observation data and their use in species distribution modeling.