National Ecological Observatory Network

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The National Ecological Observatory Network or NEON is planned to be a network of observation stations that will cover the United States, in order to collect ecological data in unprecedented detail. NEON is funded by the National Science Foundation, and is expected to begin operation in 2013.^[1]

[edit] Research Goals

The National Science Foundation envisions NEON as,

"a continental scale research instrument consisting of geographically distributed infrastructure, networked via state-of-the-art communications. Cutting-edge lab and field instrumentation, site-based experimental infrastructure, natural history archive facilities and/or computational, analytical and modeling capabilities, linked via a computational network will comprise NEON. NEON will transform ecological research by enabling studies on major environmental challenges at regional to continental scales. Scientists and engineers will use NEON to conduct real-time ecological studies spanning all levels of biological organization and temporal and geographical scales. NSF disciplinary and multi-disciplinary programs will support NEON research projects and educational activities. Data from standard measurements made using NEON will be publicly available.” (NSF 04549, 2004)^[2]

NEON is specifically designed to address central scientific questions about the interactions of ecosystems, climate, and land use:

How will ecosystems and their components respond to changes in natural- and human-induced forcings such as climate, land use, and invasive species across a range of spatial and temporal scales? And, what is the pace and pattern of the responses?

How do the internal responses and feedbacks of biogeochemistry, biodiversity, hydroecology, and biotic structure and function interact with changes in climate, land use, and invasive species? And, how do these feedbacks vary with ecological context and spatial and temporal scales?

NEON Project documents are available at neoninc.org, including the Integrated Science and Education Plan (ISEP) and the Networking and Informatics Baseline Design (NIBD).