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National Ecological Observatory NetworkA project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and operated under cooperative agreement by Battelle.

Abraham KaramField Operations ManagerDomain 14

The NEON Project in the Desert Southwest: 2017 Status Update

What is NEON?

National Ecological Observatory Network• A large science facility funded by the National Science

Foundation and operated by Battelle• NEON provides open, continental-scale data that characterize

and quantify complex, rapidly changing ecological processes at multiple spatial and temporal scales

• Can be used stand-alone, or as a standardized framework for additional research and experiments to leverage data

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81 field sites • 47 terrestrial• 34 aquatic

24STATES

(plus Puerto Rico)

Located in

180DATA

PRODUCTS

Approximately

Where is NEON?

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How does NEON collect data?• Automated instruments

• Observational sampling

• Airborne remote sensing

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What happens at a NEON site?

Obtaining Automated Instrument and Observational Data

• NEON provides free and open-access data via our data portal.Once downloaded, the data are saved as .csv files in a

packaged single .zip file. Sampling protocols available for download.

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neondata.org

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View all data products

Search by location list or map

Find protocols & maintenance docs

Search by product

Obtaining Automated Instrument and Observational Data

Obtaining Airborne Remote Sensing Data

• AOP data from around the observatory are available; users will have to request access

• Alternatively, users can purchase and mail in a hard drive to AOP

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neonscience.org/request-airborne-data

2017 Field Operations Highlights

• Transitioned from paper data sheets to field tablets Improved data upload times

• Commissioning• Established contracts with external processing labs• Retention of field technicians within and among domains

around the NEON network

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Domain 14 Status Update

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• Airborne Sampling Coordination with TUS, Fort

Huachuca and Air Force

Flight window at peak green (22 Aug – 3 Sept)

Goal is to map the entire watershed

Domain 14 Status Update

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P1 P2

P3

P1 P2

P3

• Airborne Sampling Priority 1 (P1) flight box

captures the tower airshed and most of the NEON site.

Priority 2 and 3 boxes capture the remainder the watershed not covered by P1

Domain 14 Status Update

P1 area collected under nominal conditions (less than 10% cloud cover and within 40 degree solar angle). P2 and 3 areas collected under various conditions.

SRER data have been processed except for the digital camera data (estimate 1 month) and higher level Spectrometer mosaics (mid Dec-Jan).

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Domain 14 Status Update

• Instrumented Systems: All Phase 3 (eddy covariance)

instrumentation completed at Jornada and Santa Rita; most data products streaming

All infrastructure and instruments installed at Sycamore Creek; data expected early 2018

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Phenology Cam• Located on the NEON SRER tower

• Photos taken at 15 minute intervals

• https://phenocam.sr.unh.edu/webcam/

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July 9, 2017 Aug 1, 2017

Domain 14 Status Update

• Organismal Sampling: Terrestrial sampling ongoing at

Jornada and Santa Rita

Aquatics sampling began in June at Sycamore Creek

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2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Velvet mesquite

• Creosote

• Desert Zinnia

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

Tower Plot

Distributed Plot

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Grazing clip harvest (1x/month) if cattle preset during growing season

• 2019 Below Ground Biomass and Canopy Foliar Chemistry sampling

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Over 200 plant species representing 35+ families

• 60+ species in one plot

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Pathogen results in Jan.

• Taxonomic identification

11 species identified from SRER

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year Aedes purpureipes

Aedes papago

Photos: Kelsey Renfro

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• External lab identification results in Fall 2017

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Highest small mammal capture rates at NEON

• Disease and population data

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Successful first year partnering with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Nitrogen Transformation sampling in 2019

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

• Baseline mapping and tagging of woody vegetation

• Over 1,100 technician hours to complete

2017 Terrestrial Sampling at SRER

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Protocol FrequencyPlant Phenology Yearly (weekly)

Leaf Area Index Yearly (bi-weekly) + 3 year

Leaf Litter Yearly (1x/month)

Herbaceous Clip Yearly (Spring & Summer PG) + 3 year

Plant Diversity Yearly (Spring & Summer PG)

Mosquitoes Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ground Beetles Yearly (bi-weekly)

Ticks Yearly (6 weeks)

Small Mammals Yearly (6x)

Birds Yearly (1x)

Soil Microbes Yearly (3x)

Vegetation Structure 3 year

Course Downed Wood 3 year

Thank You!• Domain14 staff and NEON HQ support

• Mitch McClaran and Mark Heitlinger (assistance and support)

• Cheryl McIntyre (bio-crust guidance)

• Martha Gebhardt (outreach opportunities)

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720.746.4844 | neonscience@BattelleEcology.org | www.battelle.org/neon

National Ecological Observatory Network is a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and operated under cooperative agreement by Battelle.

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