The development and functions of ecosystems and their responses to environmental drivers are inherently long-term processes that need to be studied along gradients in time and space. Global anthropogenic drivers of change interact with natural processes, causing uncertainties, tipping points and potential crises in system behaviour. Further, most ecosystem services are strongly interlinked and require a multi- and transdisciplinary approach that allows for the simultaneous analysis of multiple processes and feedbacks. The environmental drivers affecting one domain are also easily reflected in other domains. Considering the current extensive land use changes and climate change, integrated studies where aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are studied in combination are urgently required. The sites and platforms of the long-term ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological research networks and research infrastructures (ILTER, eLTER) distributed around the globe offer a unique tool for this, while coupled ecosystem-scale experimentation (AQUACOSM) can further strengthen the hypothesis testing.

This session focuses on research performed at sites and platforms implementing a whole system approach, also cross the terrestrial and aquatic domains. Emphasis will be on results presenting long-term changes and responses of ecosystem and socio-ecological processes to environmental drivers, as well as ecosystem-scale experiments (mesocosms) and observations scaling up from sites to larger regions up to the continental level.

We welcome studies linking biodiversity loss, climate change, and other anthropogenic pressures to ecosystems. We encourage contributions using interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches, addressing relationships among different ecosystem compartments (vegetation, soils, waters etc.) or between ecological and social systems, as well as transdisciplinary studies that incorporate diverse forms of knowledge beyond the scientific community.