Save Australia's ecological research.

Abstract

![Figure][1] Australia's long-term ecological research projects are at risk. PHOTO: THPSTOCK/ISTOCKPHOTO Australia will lose its integrated long-term ecological research (LTER) network at the end of 2017 ([ 1 ][2]). The network comprises more than 1100 long-term field plots within temperate forests, rainforests, alpine grasslands, heathlands, deserts, and savannas, with an unparalleled temporal depth in biodiversity data. Its many achievements includ e Australia's first published trend data for key ecosystems ([ 2 ][3]) and a suite of IUCN ecosystem risk assessments ([ 3 ][4]). Long-term ecological data are critical for quantifying environmental and biodiversity change and identifying its causes. LTER is especially important in Australia because many of the country's ecosystems are subject to frequent climatic extremes. Continuity of long-term research and monitoring, and broader use of existing time series data by science and policy communities, are crucial for measuring impacts of current unprecedented global environmental change and reliably predicting future impacts. Long-term research and monitoring is also essential to understanding relationships between the economy, ecosystems, and risks to human well-being ([ 4 ][5]). The loss of Australia's LTER network will substantially diminish resource managers' ability to judge the effectiveness of management interventions on which billions of dollars are spent annually (such as vegetation restoration and invasive species control). Ending the network will also jeopardize sustainability assessments of resource-based industries such as agriculture and forestry. Moreover, Australia's capacity to participate effectively in global initiatives such as the International LTER will be impaired. The LTER network is part of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), funded by Australia's government ([ 5 ][6]). TERN's inclusion of existing LTER capability provided a template that others in Europe, China, and South Africa have followed. Discontinuing the LTER network within TERN will therefore undermine global cohesion in environmental research and monitoring. At a time when the United States is increasing funding for its LTERs by US$5.6M annually ([ 6 ][7]), and other nations are rapidly building substantial LTER capacity, terminating Australia's LTER network is totally out of step with international trends and national imperatives. To prevent the collapse of the LTER network and prevent the resulting irreversible impacts of breaking current time-series, urgent and direct investment by the Australian government is crucial. [www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/357/6351/557-a/DC1][8] Full author list 1. [↵][9]TERN, Quarterly Newsletter, Issue 16 (2017); [www.ozflux.org.au/publications/newsletter/SuperSitesOzFluxCZONewsletter\_Issue16\_July2017.pdf][10]. 2. [↵][11]1. D. B. Lindenmayer, 2. E. Burns, 3. N. Thurgate, 4. A. Lowe , Eds., Biodiversity and Environmental Change: Monitoring, Challenges and Direction (CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia, 2014). 3. [↵][12]1. D. A. Keith , Austral. Ecol. 40, 337 (2015). [OpenUrl][13] 4. [↵][14]1. D. B. Lindenmayer et al ., Austral. Ecol. 40, 213 (2015). [OpenUrl][15] 5. [↵][16]Long Term Ecological Research Network ([www.ltern.org.au][17]). 6. [↵][18]Nature 543, 469 (2017). [OpenUrl][19] [1]: pending:yes [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #ref-3 [5]: #ref-4 [6]: #ref-5 [7]: #ref-6 [8]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/357/6351/557-a/DC1 [9]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [10]: http://www.ozflux.org.au/publications/newsletter/SuperSitesOzFluxCZONewsletter_Issue16_July2017.pdf [11]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [12]: #xref-ref-3-1 View reference 3 in text [13]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAustral.%2BEcol.%26rft.volume%253D40%26rft.spage%253D337%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [14]: #xref-ref-4-1 View reference 4 in text [15]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAustral.%2BEcol.%26rft.volume%253D40%26rft.spage%253D213%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [16]: #xref-ref-5-1 View reference 5 in text [17]: http://www.ltern.org.au [18]: #xref-ref-6-1 View reference 6 in text [19]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DNature%26rft.volume%253D543%26rft.spage%253D469%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx