Need to establish long-term ecological research network in India

Abstract

The paper discusses the purpose, significance and need for establishing Long-Term Ecological Research in India. LTER was first established in 1980 by the National Science Foundation of USA. Its main mission was to understand ecological phenomena on long-term basis through cooperation and collaboration among scientists from different parts of the world. It also emphasizes on training, sharing research data and helping scientists to manage ecosystems throughout the world through personal visits and electronic linkages. Many countries have become member of the international LTER programme while many more are in the process of joining the network. In India, there is an urgent need of recognizing LTER sites as many ecosystems require long-term research and monitoring. A national meeting of ecologists held in December 2002 had discussed the objectives of LTER Network-India. Further, an ad-hoc Committee of ecologists was proposed under the leadership of Prof. J.S. Singh, during the national seminar at Kurukshetra in January 2004.