The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will be an NSF-sponsored research facility for the study of long-term, large-scale ecological change. NEON’s science mission is to enable understanding and forecasting of the impacts of climate change, land use change and invasive species on continental-scale ecology by providing infrastructure and information to support research in these areas.

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), being funded by the National Science Foundation, is a continental-scale research platform for discovering, understanding and forecasting the impacts of climate change, land-use change, and invasive species on ecology. Local site-based flux tower and field measurements will be coordinated with high resolution, regional airborne remote sensing observations. The Land Use Analysis Package (LUAP) provides a linkage to scaling to continental scale by providing access to satellite data sets.

 Land use, invasive species, and climate change are all the results of human modifications of our planet. Humans directly and indirectly force ecosystem changes and we also respond to ecosystem modifications. The human effects on ecosystems can be seen primarily through modifications in land cover and land use. While remote sensing systems can monitor land cover, most human land use (e.g. fertilizer use, grazing intensity, irrigation rate) information require other types of data. NEON requires land use data on the local and continental scale.

As an attempt to assess and monitor long term ecological processes among several biological areas of the country The Venezuelan Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network (EcoRed Venezuela) was established in September 1997 with government support, through the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICIT), the encouragement of the US LTER Network, and the cooperation of scientific institutions throughout the country.

Graduate Student Symposium

Saturday 7:00 pm Meet & Greet Mixer
Location: Convention Center Assembly Hall

Sunday -  Plenary Meeting
7:00am  - Breakfast - YMCA Dining Hall

8:30 - Welcome & Introduction
Amber Hardison (VCR), Chelse Prather (LUQ)
Location - Longs Peak Diamond East & West

9:00 - What are the LTER and LNO?  
Henry Gholz (NSF), Bob Waide (LNO), Todd Crowl (NSF)

 Landscapes in the southeastern U.S. are expected to change profoundly in the next five decades. Changes in climate and land use will especially impact the rural and quasi-rural lands that still characterize much of southern Appalachia. Coweeta LTER research between 2008-14 will extend long-term measurements, field experiments and interdisciplinary modeling from small watershed studies to regional-scale analyses so as to account for increases in resource demand and competition from adjacent and more distant areas.

After many years of discussions, there are now serious efforts to initiate ILTER-like activities in adjacent regions of western Argentina and central Chile. Collectively, this area is often called “northern Patagonia”. For the most part, ILTER organizers in Argentina and Chile, as well as their U.S. collaborators, have been operating independently. However, all of these scientists recognize that there is significant value in coordinating plans for long-term ecological research in northern Patagonia. 

In his Inaugural address, President Obama vowed to “restore science to its rightful place”, and make scientific data an integral part of the policy decisions of his administration. This means that now, more than ever, the input of scientists is needed to in order to inform public policy. In particular, as climate change, biofuels, and biodiversity are increasingly on the legislative agenda, the scientifically-based opinions of ecologists and environmental biologists is more relevant than ever.

Images and Scenes from the 2006 LTER All Scientists Meeting