European Research Consortium eLTER ERIC One Step Closer to Its Establishment
On 24 July 2025, Germany, as the designated host country of the future eLTER ERIC consortium (Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, Critical Zone and Socio-Ecological System Research Infrastructure), submitted a first-stage application (so-called Step 1 application) to the European Commission for the establishment of eLTER ERIC. The European Commission will subsequently review the application, the proposed statutes, and the technical-scientific description of the consortium. Within the next three months, a decision can be expected, along with possible recommendations and requests to adjust the parameters of the future eLTER ERIC consortium. The Czech Republic, together with Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland, is among the potential founding members of the consortium.
European Research Infrastructure eLTER RI One Step Closer to the Establishment of the Consortium (eLTER – a European Research Infrastructure – Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research)
European Research Infrastructure eLTER
eLTER RI is a distributed research infrastructure that supports cutting-edge research and brings new insights into the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, pollution, and unsustainable resource use on various European socio-ecological systems. eLTER RI aims to develop scientific capacity to better understand the functioning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. By integrating a socio-ecological approach to studying human–nature systems and engaging the knowledge of key stakeholders, it provides a solid basis for evidence-based policy-making that seeks sustainable solutions to current and future challenges. The consortium’s management functions will be ensured by the central office, which will be part of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung) in Leipzig. Other important parts of the consortium will include, for example, the Data Management Centre (“Data Centre”), responsible for data administration, and the Analytical Centre.
CzeCOS – Domanínek Experimental Site (Experimentální pracoviště ekofyziologie rostlin Domanínek – Ústav výzkumu globálni změny, AV ČR v. v. i.)
Czech participation in the future eLTER ERIC consortium
Czech partners involved in the establishment and operation of the future European research infrastructure eLTER include the large research infrastructure CzeCOS, coordinated by the Global Change Research Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice through the large research infrastructure CENAKVA. The Czech Republic has long acted as a significant partner for eLTER RI and as a potential host country for one of the components of the future consortium, namely the Data Centre. The research organisation responsible for the Data Centre within eLTER RI is Masaryk University in Brno, specifically the Centre for Education, Research and Innovation in ICT (CERIT), focused on building a resilient digital society.