PLANAQUA is the National experimental platform in Aquatic Ecology . It consists of 3 levels of research platforms : Microcosms, from one to several litres of volume, can be used in the plankton-dedicated laboratory to set up continuous cultures experiments. They can also be used in the climatic chambers of the Ecotron IleDeFrance, a device that allows the precise conditioning of the environment and the detailed monitoring of states and activities of organisms and ecosystems. Microcosms allow studying plankton communities in marine or freshwater ecosystems under highly controlled environmental conditions such as temperature, irradiance, nutrients, and gas concentrations. A series of dedicated sensors enables monitoring of gas exchange (O2 and CO2) between the air and the water in the experimental system and to follow the related plankton metabolic activity. Mesocosms, with a volume of several cubic metres, have a high degree of replication. They are installed outdoors and equipped with devices for the experimental control of thermal gradients and water mixing. For example, twelve mesocosms are equipped with beaters that generate waves, making it possible to control the physical structure of the water column. These tools have been developed for studying the link between physical constraints and the functioning of aquatic systems. The large volume of these mesocosms (15 m3) makes it possible to house complex communities of organisms. Sixteen artificial lakes of 650 m3 have been conceived for incorporating the natural complexity of the environment and the spatially heterogeneous nature of ecological processes in natural ecosystems. These very large experimental systems, shaped with littoral, benthic and pelagic zones, will be inter-connected to each other by dispersal channels and equipped with automated sensors and data loggers. The artificial lakes will facilitate the studies on the functioning of complex communities with heterogeneous spatial distributions, and will allow understanding and managing the consequences of anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity, up to the species at the top of the food chains.

The SOERE PRO is a network of long-term field experiments dedicated to the quantification of all effects of organic residue (OR) application in agriculture. It has been created in 2011 to evaluate benefits and risks associated to organic residue recycling in agriculture. The SOERE PRO provides data (1) to better evaluate the effects of regular OR application on organic matter dynamic and potential C storage in soils, biogeochemical cycles of nutrients (C, N, P), fate of potentially present chemical and biological contaminants, soil biological activities; (2) simulate the long-term consequences of regular application and integrate them in environmental analysis that will allow to (3) test various alternative scenarios of application. The experimental sites allow measuring the long-term evolution of the agro-system after repeated applications of organic residues derived from urban and agricultural activities (sludge, composts, manures) and undergoing various treatments (none, composting, anaerobic digestion). The SOERE PRO network involved different research institutes and collaborations with concerned professional partners. The SOERE PRO sites are managed to provide field experiments to support research programs (ex. FP7 GENESIS, ADEME Bioindicateurs, ANR Isard, ANR CESA CEMABS, SNOWMAN, PhD works). 3 on-going sites of the SOERE PRO network are involved in ANAEE-France: QualiAgro located in the Paris basin comparing urban composts and manure (started in 1998), EFELE located in Brittany comparing different manures and different treatment processes (started in 2012), Colmar located in north east of France comparing composted and non-composted residues (started in 2000). In addition to those 3 sites involved directly in ANAEE-France, the SOERE PRO network includes also 4 other sites covering larger agro-pedo-climatic contexts with: 1 site located in tropical conditions in La Réunion Island comparing urban OR and farm effluents (started in 2014), 2 historical sites OR where OR spreading has stopped but allowing to study system resiliency and including high contamination levels (La Bouzule and Couhins), 1 site located in Burkina Faso devoted to the study of the OR input mode of various composts and conducted under tropical conditions. The same analyses and measurements are managed on the 3 sites involved in ANAEE-France. The same instrumentations are installed to monitor the hydrodynamic functioning of soil: TDR probes, tensiometers, temperature sensors, lysimeters. Climatic data are monitored on all sites. Greenhouse gas emissions (N2O, CO2) will be continuously measured by gas measurement chambers. The applied organic residues, soils, crops and waters (rains and leached waters) are sampled and analysed similarly (parameters, analytical methods, laboratories). Data management is centralized at the SOERE PRO level with the development of web interfaces (data integration and extraction) and data bases for field experiment data, analytical data of organic wastes applied in France and for traceability information concerning SOERE PRO samples. The information system is developed by the INRA EcoInformatique team devoted to develop and manage the information systems of the INRA long-term observatories (INRA Orléans). Samples of OR, soil and crops are long-term stored under harmonized conditions to allow future analyses and/or future investigations by scientists.

The Estrées-Mons platform is dedicated to arable crops. It evaluates the effect of agricultural practices on C and N cycles in the soil-plant system and their interaction. Nitrate leaching, SOM evolution and GHG emissions (CO2, N2O) are monitored according to level of N intensification, crop residues export, soil tillage and legume frequency. The key issue is to understand how the wide variation in C and N inputs affects C and N cycles in more or less intensified systems.

The Lusignan platform is dedicated to temporary grassland. It has been designed to increase our understanding of the effects of management of mixed arable crops / grasslands systems on the environmental outputs. The main scientific issue concerns the effects of grassland duration and management on SOM dynamics (quantity and composition), GHG emissions (CO2, N2O), nutrient lixiviation and functional biodiversity.

The site of Montiers, localized at the boundaries between Meuse and Haute-Marne departments, North-East of France, has a large surface area (143 ha). It comprises two soil successions (toposequence) and the climate, stand conditions (age, species, forest management) are equivalent on all the surface of the site. The facility comprises three biogeochemical stations of 10 000 m2 each and one flux tower above forest canopy (45 m-high) settled along a soil succession representative of soils of the region. The three stations include four substations of which three are strongly equipped and one is free for future experimentations. Each equipped substation comprises lysimeters at different soil depths (litter, -10 cm, -30 cm, -60 cm and -90 cm; 3 replicates in general), tensio-lysimeters (-10 cm, -30 cm, -60 cm, -90 cm and -120 cm; 3 replicates in general) and temperature and moisture probes at different soil depths (-10 cm, -30 cm, -60 cm and -90 cm; 4 replicates), litterbags (6 replicates), stemflows (6 replicates), gutters (4 replicates). These stations allow to follow-up on the long term the flows of water, and major (Ca, Mg, K, Na, P, Fe, Mn, Si, Al, S, C, N) and trace (Cl, Se, B, I, Cs) elements between the different compartments (soil, tree, atmosphere) of a beech forest. Each station is settled on a different soil type, i.e., alocrisol, calci-brunisol, rendosol thus allowing to assess the impact of the soil type on biogeochemical cycles and on tree growth. The flux tower is equipped with a Eddy Covariance system (CO2, H2O, and sensible heat) and a complete set of sensors recording the aerial and edaphic meterological conditions, the phenology and the canopy status. The data from flux tower are available on demand. The forest mainly consists in a beech timber of about 50 years: dominant species and forestry in the region. The effect of the soil on the biogeochemical and biological functioning of this beech forest is dealt with a very integrated approach (ecophysiology, microbiology, soil science and biogeochemistry). In addition, the flux tower permits to measure, at various levels of the canopy and above, meteorological parameters (temperature, radiation, and precipitation), the gaseous exchanges and the particular deposits.