Hungarian LTER Network

• LTER HU website
• ILTER regional network: Europe 

The Hungarian LTER Network consists of scientists working on the LTER sites collectively engaged in and dedicated to multi- and interdisciplinary long-term and large spatial scale research and monitoring in ecological science including human dimensions.

Its scientific basis is formed by different research institutes of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and from departments of different universities.

Long-term ecological research motivated either by environmental problems or by scientific purposes has traditions in Hungary. Eutrophication of Lake Balaton, the maintenance of proper water quality of River Danube, the need for insect pest prediction in agriculture and forestry have initiated mainly long-term biodiversity studies. The international scientific programmes such as IBP and MAB stimulated the productivity and ecosystem studies from the seventies. The demand for developing a nation-wide network to integrate the results of formerly separated long-term studies arose in the nineties.

The major impetus came from the cooperation with US LTER scientist in the frame of the project supported by NSF and HAS (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) "Development of Hungarian-American collaborative research efforts: Biodiversity and Long-Term Ecosystem Research (1994). In 1997 the Hungarian Academy of Sciences after longer negotiations confirmed the development of a national ecological research network to increase the effectiveness of the research work. Site-based long-term ecological monitoring and research has central role in the scientific programme of the network. In Hungary there are three research sites which are representative for the zonal biomes of the country, and have proper scientific background from earlier research activity. Their scientists want to fulfill the requirements of the standards of LTER sites and to take part in regional and global networking activities.