Lter, long term ecological research along the Italian coasts

Long-term ecological research (LTER) plays a crucial role in tracing and predicting ecosystem trends in response to environmental changes. Within the LTER-Italy network, which is part of the International LTER network, a great scientific effort is concentrated on the marine environment. To this end several different Italian institutions, working in four coastal sites, are networked with the aim of sharing methodologies, experimental approaches, and ecological data. This intellectual and experimental partnership among disciplines and researchers represents an essential requirement also for knowledge driven environmental policy.