Newman Information Center for Desert R&D - The Israel-LTER Project: Introduction

Israel’s multi-faceted/multi-agent ecologic mobilization project (Heb acronym: Ma’arag) — or Israel-LTER — is a long-term effort aimed at bridging between academia, which produces scientific knowledge relating to the structure and function of open spaces, and the various management bodies dealing with these terrains in Israel. The knowledge is directed towards the preservation, restoration, and advancement of the biological diversity in Israel and the ecological benefits provided by these open spaces. The main products of this project are the preparation of the scientific groundwork for short-term monitoring and long-term preservation of the biodiversity in Israel through, among other instruments, a network of permanent stations for long-term ecological monitoring and research (LTER). The research and monitoring will aid the development of an ecologically guided, sophisticated management approach for preserving, restoring or enhancing biodiversity dependent on changes due to natural and anthropomorphic causes. The major goal of creating an interrelationship between research and management is to improve the professional work of management cadres and their decision making processes with respect to caring for open spaces. This interaction will enable acting on more relevant scientific-expert considerations than takes place today. The uniqueness of the Israel-LTER project is its attempt, for the first time in Israel, to bring under a single roof the various agencies managing open spaces and the academic bodies involved in their study, in order to formulate a joint program that will advance the research and management of open spaces.