In an exchange initiated in 1993, ten U.S. LTER scientists met in Vácrátót, Hungary March 26-28, 1995 as guests of the developing Hungarian LTER network The meeting was supported by a grant from NSF, International Programs Division, awarded to Diana Freckman, (McMurdo), Debra Coffin (Central Plains) and Edit Kovács-Láng (Hungarian Academy of Sciences). LTER sites represented were Virginia Coast, Sevilleta, H.J. Andrews, Luquillo, North Temperate Lakes, Konza Prairie and W.K. Kellogg.
Participants discussed graduate student and scientist exchanges and research collaborations, electronic networking and database development, and opportunities presented by participating in the ILTER Network. They developed a conceptual framework and strategic six-year research plan, and a number of collaborative proposals, which were submitted to NSF and the Hungarian Academy, and considered additional sources of funding for long-term ecological research.
Products of the meeting included:
- An executive summary
- An action plan for the Hungarian network
- A plan to link with LTERnet and make Hungarian LTER information available on the Internet
- A plan to submit articles to the U.S. LTER and Ecological Society of America newsletters
- The production of a book summarizing Hungary’s LTER site history, research and datasets, condensed from a proposal written by scientists from the Kiskunsagi site.