Lifewatch ERIC: e-Science infrastructure for biodiversity & ecosystem research

LifeWatch ERIC — e-Science infrastructure for biodiversity & ecosystem research Presented at the LTER-LIFE meeting, 1 April 2026, Netherlands This 15-minute presentation introduces LifeWatch ERIC to an audience of Dutch ecosystem researchers and the LTER-LIFE development team. It presents LifeWatch as the analytical and e-Science layer that complements long-term ecosystem observation networks such as LTER, covering four core services: EcoPortal (shared ontologies and controlled vocabularies for data interoperability), NaaVRE and Workflow Studio (tools for building, sharing and operationalising reproducible analytical workflows), and the Metadata Catalogue (FAIR publication and European discoverability via OpenAIRE and EOSC). The presentation emphasises practical access pathways, from free exploratory use at my.lifewatch.eu to collaborative engagement for complex needs, and highlights the Thematic Working Groups at community.lifewatch.eu as a route into the European biodiversity research community. The central message is that LTER-LIFE researchers can immediately reuse existing tools and workflows rather than starting from scratch, accelerating their research and enabling communities to solve their own problems.