Park Shaked, LTSER Northern Negev and Ramon (RMN) - Israel

Описание: eLTER provides researchers with access to approximately 250 research Sites and socio-ecological Platforms across Europe and biogeographical regions, establishing and offering harmonised and standardised data, services and training useful to citizens and experts in their joint efforts to find sustainable solutions to the Grand Societal Challenges. https://www.elter-ri.eu/

eLTER presents:

Park Shaked, LTSER Northern Negev and Ramon (RMN) - Israel

Park Shaked is a long-term research site in Israel’s semiarid shrub–grass steppe, where scientists study how dryland ecosystems respond to climate change, livestock grazing, and land restoration. With only 150–200 mm of annual rainfall, extreme seasonal temperatures, and detailed meteorological data dating back to 1997, the site offers rare conditions for examining vegetation dynamics, dwarf-shrub patch formation, biological soil crust development, and the impacts of grazing exclusion versus controlled sheep grazing. Its vegetation features patch-forming shrubs such as Noaea mucronata and Thymelea hirsuta, surrounded by species-rich winter annuals.

Founded in 1993, Park Shaked combines scientific research, education, and KKL-JNF -led land rehabilitation. Long-term and short-term experiments explore biodiversity, soil–vegetation interactions, and the processes driving desertification or recovery. The site’s drought-induced watershed collapse provides valuable insights into climate-change resilience, contributing to regional and global comparisons of dryland ecosystems and informing sustainable land-use practices.

Learn more: https://deims.org/869ec32d-7530-4975-...

Ramon (RMN) - Israel

Located on the wet edge of the hyper-arid desert, the Ramon Crater is a 40 km–long geological marvel with exceptional geodiversity, allowing scientists to study multiple geological periods without excavation. With only 55 mm of highly unpredictable annual rainfall, vegetation grows mainly in ephemeral riverbeds, while surrounding slopes are dominated by microorganisms such as cyanobacteria. C4 shrubs, scattered acacia trees, and a fauna of detritivores and desert mammals—including gazelles, ibex, hyenas, foxes, wolves, and caracals—form the core of this fragile ecosystem. The site offers a unique window into how climate change shifts rainfall timing, shortens wet seasons, and shapes life at the hyper-arid extreme.

The Ramon Crater research site serves as a model for understanding the structure, function, and services of hyper-arid ecosystems, focusing on the eco-hydrological processes that drive biodiversity and landscape dynamics. Research explores hydrological niches, runoff patterns, floods, soil moisture, and stream-order–based heterogeneity, linking them to geodiversity and source–sink relationships. Established in the 1990s and expanded through long-term monitoring of vegetation, arthropods, rodents, and large mammals, the site now includes meteorological and hydrological stations and participates in global projects such as Lifeplan. Together, these efforts reveal how hyper-arid ecosystems function—and how they differ from arid systems worldwide.

Learn more: https://deims.org/52d25867-33e7-4f27-...

This video is part of the eLTER Sites and Platforms Series
Filming location: Park Shaked, LTSER Northern Negev and Ramon (RMN) - Israel
Cinematography: Evgeni Dimitrov
Video editing: Evgeni Dimitrov and Damjan Gjonov
Production management: Pensoft Publishers

Executive producer: eLTER

We would like to thank our colleagues at LTER Israel, KKL-JNF, Ben Gurion University of The Negev, the entire team at Park Shaked, LTSER Northern Negev and Ramon (RMN) - Israel, and extend special thanks to Shayli Dor - Haim and Elli Groner!

The Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, critical zone and socio-ecological Research (eLTER) receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under GA No 871126 (eLTER PPP) and GA No 871128 (eLTER PLUS), and the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under GA No 101131751 (eLTER EnRich).