The Department of Biology, Agriculture and Food Science (DiSBA) actively participates in numerous European Research Infrastructures included in the ESFRI Roadmap, contributing to the development of services, platforms, and strategic expertise in the agri-food, biological, environmental, and ecosystem sectors. These infrastructures serve as reference points for the national and European scientific community, promoting access to advanced resources, method standardization, data interoperability, and transnational collaboration.
The Department’s involvement strengthens Italy’s role in major European initiatives, supporting the production of knowledge and innovation essential to addressing global challenges such as climate change, food security, the sustainability of production systems, and biodiversity protection. Through active participation in European infrastructures, the Department contributes to the development of shared methodologies and standards, promotes coordinated access to advanced infrastructures, and fosters the integration of data and expertise at the international level. This commitment consolidates the growth of the national scientific community and supports the country’s ability to contribute significantly to European and global research.
AnaEE ERIC – Analysis and Experimentation on Ecosystems
AnaEE offers access to experimental platforms in controlled, semi-controlled, and natural environments to analyze the effects of climate change, environmental stress, and management practices on ecosystems. Included in the 2010 ESFRI Roadmap, it is now fully operational as AnaEE-ERIC.
National Node: AnaEE Italy Within AnaEE, DiSBA-CNR, through CNR-IBE, strengthens AnaEE’s ability to integrate experimental observations and forecasting models through modeling, environmental monitoring, and sustainable resource management. This contributes to the understanding of ecosystem processes and the evaluation of adaptation and mitigation strategies in response to global change.
DiSSCo – Distributed System of Scientific Collections
DiSSCo aims to digitize, integrate, and make natural history scientific collections interoperable, providing unified access to specimens, images, and metadata. Included in the 2018 ESFRI Roadmap, it is currently in the implementation phase and progressing toward the establishment of an ERIC.
DiSBA, through the CNR-IBBR, coordinates the DiSSCo-IT Joint Research Unit, which aims to promote the digitization of Natural Science Collections (CSN) throughout Italy, enhancing the biodiversity heritage preserved in Italian CSNs and supporting their transformation into bio-digital resource centers.
National Node: DiSSCo-IT
eLTER studies ecosystems, the critical zone, and socio-ecological interactions over the long term through a network of observation sites and research platforms. Included in the 2018 ESFRI Roadmap, it is currently being implemented and moving toward the establishment of the ERIC.
DiSBA contributes to the national eLTER hub through CNR-IBE, which coordinates the LTER-Italy network and supports long-term ecosystem monitoring and environmental data integration.
National node: LTER-IT
EMPHASIS – European Infrastructure for Multi‑scale Plant Phenomics and Simulation
EMPHASIS is the European infrastructure dedicated to multi-scale plant phenotyping, designed to study plant performance under variable environmental conditions through controlled-environment platforms, field phenotyping systems, modeling, and digital services. Included in the 2016 ESFRI Roadmap, it has completed its preparatory phase and is moving toward the establishment of EMPHASIS-ERIC.
The DiSBA is the Italian point of reference for the European governance of EMPHASIS and coordinates, with the contribution of CNR-IPSP, ensuring the integration of plant phenotyping infrastructures and the participation of the national scientific community active in this field.
National node: PHEN-ITALY
IBISBA – Industrial Biotechnology Innovation and Synthetic Biology Accelerator
IBISBA supports research and innovation in industrial biotechnology and synthetic biology, offering advanced services for the design, optimization, and scalability of bio-based processes. The infrastructure was included in the 2018 ESFRI Roadmap and is progressing toward full implementation as a pan-European infrastructure.
DiSBA represents Italy on the infrastructure’s governance committee and coordinates, through CNR-IBBR, the IBISBA-IT Joint Research Unit, supporting the development of integrated services for industrial biotechnology and advanced training in the sector.
National node: IBISBA-IT
ICOS ERIC – Integrated Carbon Observation System
COS is the European infrastructure dedicated to the integrated observation of greenhouse gases and the carbon cycle. It provides standardized, continuous, and high-quality measurements of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes between the atmosphere, ecosystems, and oceans, through a coordinated network of monitoring stations distributed across Europe. The data produced by ICOS are essential for understanding the functioning of the carbon cycle, assessing the effectiveness of mitigation policies, and supporting climate models and forecasting scenarios.
Included in the 2006 ESFRI Roadmap, ICOS is now fully operational as ICOS-ERIC, providing a stable, long-term infrastructure for climate and greenhouse gas research.
The DiSBA coordinates the management of two Level I ecosystem sites: Borgo Cioffi (IT-Bci agricultural site) and Castelporziano (IT-Cp2 Mediterranean holm oak forest).
National node: ICOS Italy
METROFOOD‑RI – Infrastructure for Promoting Metrology in Food and Nutrition
METROFOOD-RI focuses on food metrology and data quality along the agri-food supply chain, integrating laboratories and experimental platforms to ensure reliable measurements of safety, authenticity, traceability, and sustainability. Included in the 2018 ESFRI Roadmap, it is currently being prepared for ERIC.
“ DiSBA participates in the national METROFOOD-IT hub through CNR-ISPAAM, contributing to the development of metrological services for food and nutrition and to Italy’s participation in related European projects.
MIRRI ERIC – Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure
MIRRI integrates microbial collections, databases, and specialized expertise to ensure standardized access to microorganisms, biological materials, and genomic information. Included in the 2010 ESFRI Roadmap, MIRRI is now operational as MIRRI-ERIC (established in 2022). Since 2025, Italy has also been a member of MIRRI-ERIC.
The DiSBA, through CNR-ISPA, represents Italy in the MIRRI-ERIC Members’ Assembly and participates in the governance of the national MIRRI-IT node, contributing to the coordination of microbial collections and the definition of national standards.
National node: MIRRI-IT
