Abstract
The terrestrial biosphere interacts strongly with the climate, providing both positive and negative feedbacks due to biogeophysical and biogeochemical processes. To understand and predict the evolution of the climate, it is critical to understand both the contribution of vegetation to the greenhouse gases (GHG) budget and the response of the terrestrial biosphere to the changing climate. The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS), a new European monitoring network, offers a unique way of documenting and quantifying long term changes in the GHG balance of ecosystems. The ICOS research infrastructure includes atmospheric, ecosystem and marine station networks. The Ecosystem station network (ESN) of ICOS is based on a large number of monitoring stations that will be maintained for the next 20 years. The ESN uses a large set of standardised instruments to perform continuous and intensive measurements of meteorological and micrometeorological variables. A central part of this measurement set is the eddy covariance measurement, that allows a continuous monitoring of the flux exchanged between vegetation and atmosphere. All together these standardised observations allow a better understanding of the functioning of ecosystems in relation to climate and management practices. ICOS Ecosystems France, the French part of ESN is a cooperation of three research institutes: INRA, CNRS and ANDRA. ICOS Ecosystems France is extensive and includes eight observation stations ( 4 Class 1, 4 Class 2). In addition seven associated stations also contribute to the network. The network samples a wide range of ecosystems (forest, crop and grassland), of management practices and climates (from cold mountain climate to tropical humid in Guyana, including wet oceanic and dry Mediterranean climate). We will provide an overview of the stations and the measurement system (sensors and data flow). We will equally present the current status of the network, recent measurements and preliminary findings.