They are designed for in situ analyses of the responses of ecosystems structures and processes to experimental treatments.
Each of the ExpeER experimental sites is characterised by one or more experiments. Ten relates to forest, 8 to croplands and 3 to grasslands. Land use (rotations, cutting regimes, etc.) is the most common experimental treatment (8 sites) followed by precipitation regime (5 sites) and fertilisation (5 sites). Temperature is manipulated on 5 sites and plant biodiversity in one site.
Processes under study concern the carbon cycle, other greenhouse gases, soil biogeo-chemistry, soil biology, hydrology and biodiversity.
Highly instrumented experimental sites (HIES) involved in ExpeER:
- Achenkirch, Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazardsand Landscape, AUSTRIA.
- Klausenleopoldsdorf, Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape, AUSTRIA.
- Pierroton, National Institute for Agricultural Research, FRANCE.
- Hesse, National Institute forAgricultural Research, FRANCE.
- Lusignan, National Institutefor Agricultural Research, FRANCE.
- Puechabon, National Center for Scientific Research, FRANCE.
- Eifel, Jülich Research Center, GERMANY.
- Harz/Central German Lowland, Helmholtz centre for environmental research, GERMANY.
- Höglwald Forest, KarlsruheInstitute of Technology, GERMANY.
- Jena, Friedrich SchillerUniversity, GERMANY.
- Beano, University of Udine, ITALY.
- Tetto Frati, University of Turin, ITALY.
- Negev, Ben GurionUniversity, ISRAEL.
- Apelsvoll, Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, NORWAY.
- Braila Islands, University of Bucarest, ROMANIA.
- Therwil, Research Institute ofOrganic Agriculture and Federal Department of Economic Affairs, SWITZERLAND.
- Rothamsted, Rothamsted Research, UK.
- Whim, Natural Environment Research Counci, UK.
