Towards long-term standardised carbon and greenhouse gas observations for monitoring Europe´s terrestrial ecosystems: a review

Research infrastructures play a key role in launching a new generation of integrated long-term, geographically distributedobservation programmes designed to monitor climatechange, better understand its impacts on global ecosystems,and evaluate possible mitigation and adaptation strategies. Thepan-European Integrated Carbon Observation System combinescarbon and greenhouse gas (GHG; CO2, CH4, N2O, H2O) observationswithin the atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and oceans.High-precision measurements are obtained using standardisedmethodologies, are centrally processed and openly available ina traceable and verifiable fashion in combination with detailedmetadata. The Integrated Carbon Observation System ecosystemstation network aims to sample climate and land-cover variabilityacross Europe. In addition to GHG flux measurements,a large set of complementary data (including management practices,vegetation and soil characteristics) is collected to supportthe interpretation, spatial upscaling and modelling of observedecosystem carbon and GHG dynamics. The applied samplingdesign was developed and formulated in protocols by the scientificcommunity, representing a trade-off between an ideal datasetand practical feasibility. The use of open-access, high-quality andmulti-level data products by different user communities is crucialfor the Integrated Carbon Observation System in order to achieve its scientific potential and societal value.<br