Long Term Ecological Research forest sites are sites where scientists are engaged in long-term, site based ecological and socioeconomic research. Long term research is critical to the understanding of ecosystem processes and to the formulation of policy to establish and maintain sustainable forest management.
Ecological research is the investigation of processes and patterns that explain the relationships between living organisms and their environment. There are a number of ways of doing this including laboratory experiments, theoretical explorations, the evaluation of conceptual and mathematical models, field observations and tests. There are a lot of long term research sites in regards to forestry in Australia, all focusing on certain aspects of the environment. They can focus on forest biodiversity, hydrology, fire, climate change, fauna, harvesting practices and social impacts.