AnaEE Platform Criteria In the context of the Call for Expression of Interest This document outlines the criteria for all types of platforms aiming to be part of the distributed AnaEE infrastructure. Page 1
Contents Call for In Natura platforms for the AnaEE research infrastructure Call for In Vitro platforms for the AnaEE research infrastructure Call for Modelling platforms for the AnaEE research Infrastructure Call for Analytical platforms for the AnaEE research Infrastructure 3 6 9 11 Page 2
Call for In Natura platforms (ANP) for the AnaEE research infrastructure Objectives The main objective of the AnaEE In Natura Platforms (ANPs) is to provide long-term, field-scale experimental manipulation facilities covering Europe s major environmental gradients from arctic to Mediterranean and from oceanic to continental conditions. Experiments conducted at these facilities will yield novel information on how Europe s natural and managed ecosystems respond to concurrent changes in climate, land-use, and atmospheric composition. A major emphasis will be on interactive effects of these pressures and on temporal response scales capturing all relevant feedback processes. AnaEE envisions that ANPs will comprise experimental manipulations of natural and managed ecosystems across the predominant land use types of agriculture, forestry and nature, and the interfaces between managed and unmanaged as well as terrestrial and continental aquatic ecosystems. ANPs will therefore cover a broad spectrum of the following ecosystem types: 1. Forests 2. Agrosystems 3. Grasslands 4. Shrublands 5. Wetlands 6. Rivers and Lakes Page 3
Criteria Within the ANPs the responses of these ecosystems to a variety of pressures, preferably in combination, should be investigated. Facilities should also focus on mitigation and adaptation options for these pressures. The following pressures represent an incomplete, but preferred list of pressures, which may change according to their relevance to a particular ecosystem type. Climate change Elevated CO 2 Climate-warming (incl. heat waves) Precipitation changes (incl. extreme rain events, droughts) Hydrological changes (incl. drainage, sea level rise) UV radiation Pollution Soil eutrophication and pollution (incl. heavy metals, atm. deposition) Water eutrophication, brownification and pollution (incl. acidification) Air pollution (including tropospheric ozone) Land use / Management Fire Soil erosion Desertification Agriculture and forestry management practices (tillage, mowing, grazing, harvest, fertilization, crop protection ) Habitat fragmentation Biodiversity GMO Pests and invasive species Biodiversity loss Technical characteristics and requirements In order to be state-of-the-art and to facilitate synergies within the AnaEE infrastructure the ANPs should meet the following requirements: Ecosystem-level research facility; Ensured long-term operability; State-of-the-art manipulation techniques; State-of-the-art measurements of key ecosystem characteristics and functions. They may include state variables (e.g. air temperature, air humidity, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, incident PAR, soil temperature, soil water content, canopy cover, water column chlorophyll, species richness, population densities, etc.). Measurements may also include exchange processes with the atmosphere, benthic-pelagic exchange processes in aquatic systems, soil and sediment processes and community dynamics; Sufficiently replicated treatment plots with a total area available for additional studies large enough to have sufficient capacity for external research projects in space and time; Platforms with high flexibility for undertaking new projects will be particularly welcome; Possibilities for running mesocosm/laboratory studies in connection with the platform will be an advantage. Page 4
Data and modelling Data must be collected at relevant time intervals for the studied ecosystem and parameters and stored in local data storage systems; Application of standards and data quality assurance procedures will be essential and ANPs must adopt agreed AnaEE procedures to ensure data uniformity across sites. Facilities will be involved in the development of such common standards and protocols; ANPs must supply measured data and metadata to the AnaEE central database. Facilities will be involved in the development of common AnaEE intellectual property rights protocols; The application and use of models is a strong component of the ANPs. ANPs must have responsible and qualified staff or close collaborators who routinely apply at least one suitable dynamic ecosystem model at each facility. The dedicated modelers interact with and are supported by the national or supranational modelling facilities within AnaEE. Provided services ANPs provide the following services to the users of the ANPs, the other AnaEE platforms and facilities and stakeholders: ANPs provide basic lab facilities for initial sample handling and storage preferably on-site while more sophisticated laboratory facilities may be available at further distance; ANPs provide technical assistance for the infrastructure use; ANPs assist users with experimental design and setup; ANPs provide users with background site information as well as relevant site data; ANPs commit to participating in cross-cutting hypothesis testing and development within AnaEE platforms and supra-national centers; ANPs take active part in technology and knowledge exchange within AnaEE platforms and supranational centers as well as with other infrastructures; ANPs take active part in training of early-career researchers as well as established researchers and technical staff, and in capacity building. Page 5
Call for In Vitro platforms for the AnaEE research infrastructure Objectives Novel experimental approaches have recently been developed in ecosystem science, allowing ecologists to better understand the impact mechanisms of environmental pressures and to find pathways towards adaptation. These approaches complement In Natura platforms by enabling a higher level of environmental control and process measurement. We call them In Vitro platforms. Ecotrons are cutting-edge controlled environment facilities in which ecosystems can be exposed to multiple abiotic or biotic drivers. At the same time they can track the system s responses to these drivers in real time with advanced automated measurement systems. As such they serve both as growth environment and ecosystem analyzer. Other state-of-the-art controlled environment facilities that realistically simulate multiple abiotic or biotic drivers and focus on the ecosystem scale, determine responses with spot measurements at regular time intervals. Among these are landscape-level facilities designed to study biodiversity processes at a higher spatial scale (population and metapopulation). By simultaneously measuring multiple processes, the coupling between them can be elucidated in such facilities, which makes them unique tools for understanding ecosystem dynamics. This is essential to advance the predictive capacity of models on ecosystem functioning and services in a changing environment. Both terrestrial and aquatic (freshwater) In Vitro facilities may qualify for the current call. Criteria Pressures Pressures of interest in In Vitro platforms are often but not exclusively related to global change and can comprise elevated CO 2 concentrations, climate warming, precipitation change, tropospheric ozone or other pollutants, habitat fragmentation, extreme events, etc. An extensive (not exhaustive) list of preferred pressures is given below. Different pressures may be relevant for different climates, ecosystems and types of facility. It is expected that a minimum of two relevant pressures can be simulated in the facility at the same time, allowing combinations of these pressures. Facilities should also focus on mitigation and adaptation options for these pressures. Page 6
Climate change Elevated CO 2 Climate-warming (incl. heat waves) Precipitation changes (incl. extreme rain events, droughts) Hydrological changes (incl. drainage, sea level rise) UV radiation Land use / Management Agricultural management practices (tillage, fertiliser, grazing, harvesting, crop protection, ) Habitat fragmentation Pollution Soil eutrophication and pollution (incl. heavy metals, atm. deposition) Water eutrophication, brownification and pollution (incl. acidification) Air pollution (including tropospheric ozone) Biodiversity GMO Pests and invasive species Biodiversity loss Technical characteristics and requirements The controlled environment provides a realistic simulation of the outdoor microclimate (temperature, atmospheric humidity, precipitation, etc.) and of ecosystem structure (soil, species composition, etc.). Units with artificial light have sufficient photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and sunlit units reduce PAR only to a limited extent. Larger-scale units are expected to allow the study of more complex ecosystems; State-of-the-art measurements of system responses typically focus on processes related to biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity. They may include exchange processes with the atmosphere (gas fluxes such as CO 2, H 2 O, CH 4, N 2 O, BVOC's), benthic-pelagic exchange processes in aquatic systems, soil and sediment processes (e.g. mineralisation, leaching), community dynamics (gene flow, dispersal), etc.; Abiotic and biotic state variables are also measured (e.g. air temperature, air humidity, atmospheric pressure, incident PAR, soil temperature, soil water content, nutrient status, canopy cover, species richness, population densities, etc.), in an automated fashion where available technology allows it; The facility can provide sufficient space, time and flexibility to accommodate external research projects and is open to such projects; The facility contains a minimum of 12 independently controlled units, but deviations from this can be accepted if justified. Data and modelling Data will be collected at relevant time intervals for the studied ecosystem and parameter; they will be stored in local digital data storage systems; Common AnaEE protocols will be adopted to ensure data uniformity across facilities and data quality. Facilities will be involved in the development of such common AnaEE standards and protocols; Page 7
Collected data and metadata (abiotic variables, ecosystem state variables and processes) will be supplied to the AnaEE central database. Facilities will be involved in the development of common intellectual property rights protocols; A staff member of the facility or an identified scientist will be expected to be involved in the development and/or application of ecosystem models. This dedicated modeller will interact with and be supported by national or supranational modelling facilities within AnaEE. Provided services In vitro facilities provide the following services to the users of the facility, the other AnaEE platforms and facilities and stakeholders: Basic laboratory services for initial sample handling and storage on-site, while more sophisticated laboratory services may be available at further distance; Technical assistance in using the infrastructure (not to run the experiment), as well as assistance with experimental design and setup; In vitro facilities also take active part in training of early-career researchers as well as established researchers and technical staff, and in capacity building; In vitro facilities commit to participating in cross-cutting hypothesis testing and development within AnaEE platforms and supra-national centers; They also take active part in technology and knowledge exchange with other AnaEE platforms and supra-national centers as well as other infrastructures. Page 8
Call for Modelling platforms for the AnaEE research Infrastructure Main objectives Ecosystems including agroecosystems that comprise entire food production systems are the key research objects of AnaEE. Models are necessary to develop and test our understanding of the complex quantitative relationships between processes within ecosystems, the interactions with their environments, and their functioning and behaviour under various pressures. Models are also needed to generalise from specific ecosystem studies and to upscale results to the scale of interest. The full integration of modelling activities at all scales of AnaEE is therefore a major prerequisite to meet the following objectives: Provide users and experimentalists access to models, simulation tools and external data; Improve the quality of the experimental infrastructures with modelling; Improve the quality of ecosystem models with comprehensive high quality data sets and on site experience from ecosystem experiments; Promote and add value to AnaEE results and the model in general. Criteria An AnaEE modelling platform (AMP) is a group of model developers and model users around a wellestablished and supported model developing project that is relevant for AnaEE. AMPs provide the relevant modelling capacities and link researchers with appropriate datasets, models and training materials. AMPs can also offer so-called 'model factories', which are advanced and well-established facilities that offer users access to models, model development tools and integrated simulation facilities. An AMP has a clear modelling development strategy and is highly recognized within the scientific community, gathering both model developers and a large group of users. An AMP works ideally on thematically or regionally related parts of AnaEE. Page 9
All AMPs will be coordinated by the AnaEE Modelling Centre (AMC), which will facilitate and guide development and implementation of common modelling protocols, documentation and standardisation, organise the data flow and build contact with the users. To enhance the quality of both in natura, in vitro and modelling platforms, strong collaboration between experimentalists and modellers needs to be established. This will be enforced by shared responsibilities for routine model applications together with the in natura and in vitro platforms. Technical characteristics and requirements The key elements of an AMP are models that represent the ecosystem processes and their responses to different pressures (climate change, extreme events, pollution, land use / management, biodiversity loss - see further details in the call for in natura platforms). For this a process oriented dynamic ecosystem modelling approach is required that is able to represent the essential parts of the ecosystems' complexity. Criteria for AMP are: The model is supported by a strong scientific community and is widely used as documented by scientific publications; Model development follows a clear strategy of improvement and versioning; Sufficient scientific and technical model documentation (access to the source code is desirable); Developers dedicate time to help users to run the models, interpret results and implement adaptations to new demands; Clear rules for Intellectual Property Rights exist; open & free use for scientific purposes is required; The models can be flexibly parameterised and adapted to the AnaEE experimental platforms; The models can be flexibly used for model data fusion and probabilistic uncertainty analysis. Model factories provide software and hardware technology to build and couple modules into a new or existing model with user-friendly programming and user interfaces. Provided services Data services Estimation of and access to comprehensive simulated background data that complete the measured data on ecosystem states, heat and mass flows, carbon and nitrogen budgets at in natura sites; Estimation of indicators for generalizing the AnaEE experimental results; Support for synthesis activities. Improvement of the experimental infrastructures Transformation of experimental data to the appropriate spatial and temporal scales; Regular data consistency checks as contribution to regular data quality assessment and control with routine site level model applications; Feedback to experimentalists to improve the experimental infrastructures; Assistance for data gap filling. Technical assistance to model development and use Assistance to model developers: Access to models and modelling tools ; Assistance to users: model documentation, training, support, facilities for model application, access to data; Model development Model development and test with the comprehensive high quality data produced by AnaEE experimental platforms; Model inter-comparisons and uncertainty analyses; Establish common standards for model simulations, model analysis and parameterisation. Page 10
Call for Analytical platforms for the AnaEE research Infrastructure Introduction Analytical platforms are unique facilities (independent from other components of the AnaEE infrastructure) open for access. Uniqueness means that the analytical services which are provided must have a high degree of originality and cannot be easily duplicated elsewhere with comparable standards. The platforms should be equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation and methods closely related to ecosystem and bioeconomy research. The advantage will be the integration of several methods, i.e. they will preferentially offer a range rather than individual measurements. They should have the capacity to perform data analysis/processing for further interpretation. Forward-looking policies and spinoff capacity are appreciated. Objectives The Analytical platforms should provide services for the whole scientific community which are unavailable for the most infrastructures/countries (due to high investments, needs for highly specialised experts or low efficiency for small sample series). Such highly specialised platforms will ensure high quality of the provided analyses and standardization across all AnaEE infrastructures. For certain types of analyses several analytical platforms will be integrated and highly coordinated into the supranational infrastructure to provide the same highly standardized analyses in different places. Criteria State-of-the-art instrumentation and methods not generally available; Added value for ecosystem and bio-economy research; Highly specialised experts available to be able to operate unique instrumentation and perform initial data processing; High throughput performance of methods and data processing; Standardisation with similar platforms worldwide and demonstrated state-of-the-art internal calibration procedures; Sufficient capacity for open access and clearly defined access- and data safety-policy; Ensured long term operability and demonstrate potential for future growth; Providing qualified training for users (data) and technical staff (methods). Provided services State-of-the-art analyses of samples from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, from molecular to the whole ecosystem level; Initial data processing and analysis; Training of technical staff, PhD students and early stage researchers; Development of new methods and standardisation in different steps from sampling to data processing; The analytical platform should commit to participate in cross-cutting hypothesis testing and development within AnaEE platforms and supra-national centers. Page 11
Examples of analytical platforms Omics platforms (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics); Highly instrumented stable isotope discrimination labs (e.g. compound specific discrimination based on coupling with LC or GC); Remote sensing platforms; Highly instrumented food quality and safety labs (proteins, lipids, antioxidants, vitamins, mycotoxins, pesticides); Mobile labs for trace gas analyses; Advanced microscopic labs (e.g. electron microscopy, confocal raman microscopy); Process based imaging methods (NMR, fluorescence, raman spectroscopy, hyperspectral, thermal). Page 12