The LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes is a interdisciplinary observation and research facility on the trajectories and functioning of the socio-ecosystems of the French Alps in a context of global climate change and socio-economic mutations of mountain territories.

Objectives

The LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes aims to :

• coordinate and/or support scientific programmes of long-term observation of the relations between environment and societies ;
• promote research at the interfaces between ecosystem ecology, earth sciences (climatology, hydrology, nivology) and human and social sciences (history, sociology, territorial economy, geography, etc.) ;
• co-construct research questions with local stakeholders (managers of protected areas, local authorities).

LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes is part of Réseau des Zones Ateliers (RZA), which is a long-term Observation and Experimental System for Environmental Research (SOERE) labelled by the National Research Alliance for the Environment (AllEnvi).

At the international level, the RZA is the French link in the international Long Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) network. At the national level, the RZA became a Research Infrastructure (RZA RI) in 2018.

At the European level, the RZA IR and the OZCAR IR have submitted a joint French application to join an ESFRI, eLTER (European Long-Term Ecological Research).

The operation of the LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes is funded by two research organisations : CNRS and INRAE.

Most of the scientists in the LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes belong to the Grenoble Alpes University.

Scope of research

The Alps, a hotspot for research on socio-ecological transitions

Global changes have accelerated in recent decades and affect the entire biosphere. However, they are occurring in the Alps with singular force and speed in certain regions. Moreover, interactions between alpine ecosystems and human activities are highly diversified, with the strong presence of agro-sylvo-pastoralism and tourism, large cities, numerous communication routes, a large network of sites and stakeholders dedicated to nature conservation, and a remarkable diversity of ecosystems. The Alps are thus particularly suitable to the study of socio-ecological transitions.

Research in the Zone Atelier Alpes focuses on mountain socio-ecosystems and their trajectories. They are studied using nested approaches at various scales, from the French Alps as a biogeographical unit in its own right to a network of workshop sites, and the LTSER Platform Lautaret-Oisans.

An inter- and transdisciplinary collective to explore changes in and responses of socio-ecosystems

Born from a collaboration between research laboratories and protected natural areas around Grenoble and Chambéry, the Zone Atelier Alpes has gradually extended to all of the French Alps and brings together a wide variety of stakeholders in the Alpine territory (agricultural and tourism stakeholders, decision-makers, etc.). It relies in particular on long-term sentinel observatories, which bring together and unite these stakeholders from various backgrounds in order to respond to the challenges of adaptive management and support decision-makers and managers.
It seeks to promote the resilience of alpine socio-ecosystems and to support the ongoing transitions towards greater sustainability, and brings together an inter- and transdisciplinary collective to enlighten the following issues :

• How do global changes take place in the Alps ?
• How do they affect the functioning and dynamics of biodiversity and its ecosystems ?
• How are they perceived by local stakeholders and how do they affect our relationship to living things and nature ?
• How do Alpine territories react to these changes ?

Focus

• Functioning of alpine ecosystems and ecosystem services : What are i) the role of environmental factors (climate, topography...) and human activities on carbon, nitrogen and water cycles, and biodiversity ; ii) the functioning and services provided by mountain socio-ecosystems.
• Dynamics of biological diversities in the Alps : How have alpine environments and landscapes evolved over the very long term ? What are the model distributions and dynamics of diversities ?
• Socio-ecological interactions and transitions : How do biological diversities, services and patterns of use of ecosystems interact ? What are contemporary transformations, including from the perspective of culture, social innovation and models of development ?

Main contacts

The LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes is coordinated by Isabelle Arpin (isabelle.arpin inrae.fr, Grenoble) and Jérôme Poulenard (jerome.poulenard univ-smb.fr, Chambéry).
It has a scientific committee comprising representatives of the nine laboratories involved in the LTSER Zone Atelier Alpes and of its operational partners.