We are teaming up with the Ecological Continuity Trust to run a thematic session at the online BES 'Festival of Ecology' that will run from 14-18 December 2020. Our session will review the importance and application of long-term monitoring and experimentation in understanding the impact of environmental change on the structure and function of ecosystems. It will consider current limitations, potential synergies with other long-term ecological surveys, and the adoption of emerging technologies. In addressing the evidence for the influence of known drivers of change, such as air pollution, climate and local land use, it will also touch on the serendipitous potential of long-term monitoring records in revealing and understanding unexpected change and events, and in providing baselines for the assessment of new threats.

Organisers: Ben Sykes, Ecological Continuity Trust (ECT) and Don Monteith, UK Environmental Change Network (ECN)

See the BES website for full details of the Festival of Ecology event. The event will take place online from 14-18 December 2020. Registration is necessary and a fee is payable. We hope to see you there.