Analyses of many biogeochemical processes require long-term research approaches due to the complexity of ecological systems and interactions. To address the need of long-term, large-scale observatories, several research infrastructures have been built up or initiated during the past years, e.g. in order to understand the present state and predict future behavior of the global element cycles and associated greenhouse gas emissions (ICOS, JAGOS, NEON etc) or to understand the role of biodiversity in ecosystem function and biogeochemistry (LifeWatch, NEON etc). While supporting sensor standardization, data assimilation and integration of information, such research infrastructures require intellectual, methodological and technical integration.

This session invites scientists who are involved in long-term research infrastructures to present their approaches, concepts as well as already achieved results. We also welcome contributions about data management or data integration by models. Furthermore, we want to encourage future users of the infrastructure as well as of the generated knowledge to define the needs of the user community and suggest future developments of the observatories.