The Ecosystem Thematic Centre is hosted by different institutions: University of Tuscia (UNITUS) and euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) in Viterbo – Italy, the University of Antwerp (Research Group of Plant and Vegetation Ecology, PLECO) in Belgium and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Bordeaux, France. The ETC is also organized in different Units (see scheme here below) where ETC staff members from the different institutions are working together and strict and continuous coordination.
Although the ETC has been organized in order to maximize the interchangeability of the members in order to increase the robustness and share as much as possible the competences, the groups involved have different field of expertise and main responsibilities. In particular the Italian partners UNITUS and CMCC coordinate the ETC and the fluxes and meteorological data processing, the University of Antwerp is responsible for the ancillary data collection and treatment while the INRA Bordeaux will receive, analyze and store the soil and vegetation samples.
Ensure the funding to the ETC, care about the link with the Host Institutions and among Host Institutions, give general advices on the ETC functioning. Free to involve legal and administrative experts for specific discussions.