The Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN) integrates key established plot networks across Australia to tackle critical questions associated with the impacts of disturbance on Australian ecosystems. LTERN brings together some of Australia’s leading ecologists. Formally established in 2012, LTERN draws together a range of existing long-term ecological monitoring programs to examine Australian ecosystems in new ways. LTERN is composed of 12 ecological plot networks across Australia that have been actively monitored for several years and in some cases decades. These plot networks span a number of ecosystems including tropical savannas, tall eucalypt forests, mallee woodlands and shrublands, alpine regions, and deserts. The networks also cover multiple land tenures and land uses including plantation forestry, conservation, restoration, tourism and agriculture. These networks are designed to monitor biodiversity and better understand disturbance regimes associated with fire, logging, livestock grazing, invasive species, extreme weather events and climate change.