Lenoir Landing NEON / LENO

Alabama has a subtropical climate with hot summers, mild winters, and year-round precipitation. Summers are hot and humid, dominated by maritime tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. This warm, moist air contributes to the formation of convection storms and thunderstorms in the region, causing major precipitation pulses in the Tombigbee River Basin. The area is subject to tornadoes and hurricanes. The mean average annual temperature is 18.1°C (64.6°F) and the region averages about 1385 mm (55 in.) of precipitation annually. [1] [6] [9]

The parent materials at LENO are primarily Holocene-aged alluvial deposits, with the upstream source of the alluvium mainly Eocene-aged materials from the Wilcox and Claiborne groups. Coastal and terrace deposits are also found on the site. [4] [7]

Soils at LENO are in the soil subgroup Vertic Epiaquepts, which are characterized as fine, mixed, active, acid, and thermic. The major soil series on the site include Urbo, Mooreville, and Una, with minor extents of Riverview and Mantachie on higher positions. [4]

LENO is located within the Tombigbee River basin, which is encompassed within the Mobile River Basin. The 35656 km2 (8.8 million acre) basin straddles the border between Alabama and Mississippi. The Tombigbee River gathers the flow from four major rivers: the Buttahatchee, Noxubee, and Sucarnoochee from the west, and the Sipsey from the northeast. The main branch of the river flows from northeastern Mississippi to western Alabama, where it joins with the Black Warrior River, then eventually drains into the Mobile River. The flow in the Tombigbee River is generally regulated by locks and dams. The Tombigbee River Basin is subject to major precipitation pulses from tropical storms and hurricanes. These major events affect nutrient and organic matter flux, sediment transport, and biota along the gradient as they propagate downstream. [6]

The vegetation around LENO is dominated by closed-canopy pine-oak mixed forest, and also includes meadows and wetlands. Pine trees are typically found in higher, relatively less flooded areas, while oaks are distributed throughout the whole area, including the lower land with standing water. Some common species found in the canopy include a broad mix of cypress (Taxodium spp.), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), shagbark hickory (Carya ovata), oaks, and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica). Ground cover includes bamboo, grass, smilax and poison ivy (Toxicodendrom radicans). [5] [6]

Alabama hosts many different species due to its diverse ecosystems. These include 62 native mammal species, over 400 bird species, 73 amphibian species, and a plethora of invertebrate species. NEON collects data on birds, ground beetles, mosquitoes, small mammals, and ticks at the LENO site. [8]

The Tombigbee River Basin was primarily settled by the Choctaws when European explorers and settlers arrived in the 1600s. The Choctaws and Chickasaws surrendered their claims to all territory on the eastern side of the Tombigbee in 1816 and the Choctaws later ceded their lands west of the Tombigbee in 1830. Following the 1830 Indian Removal Act, the U.S. government used forced treaties to relocate the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Creek off the land. The Corps of Engineers first surveyed the river in 1870 to implement a series of locks and dams. The Coffeeville Lock and Dam in Choctaw County was completed in the early 1960s. In 1964, the Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge was established; it is bordered on the east by the Tombigbee River, which is a part of the property obtained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Coffeeville Lock and Dam project. The refuge is still maintained today to provide habitat for breeding waterfowl. [2] [10] [13] [14]

Currently the Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge, which hosts the LENO site, is managed with the goal of increasing production of migratory waterfowl, particularly wood duck (Aix sponsa). The refuge has seven moist soil impoundments that are drained in the summer to allow the growth of food plants for the waterfowl. Crops such as millet and winter wheat also add to the foraging opportunities for wildlife. The refuge also hosts over 400 artificial wood duck nesting boxes to supplement natural nesting locations. It is estimated that 2500 wood ducks are hatched in these boxes each year. The refuge also uses selective timber harvesting to encourage growth of new hardwood and herbaceous growth. Lenoir Landing Park is managed as a recreational area by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and provides recreational activities such as boating, camping, and fishing. [2] [3] [12]

NEON began plot establishment of the LENO site in November 2015. Construction of the 45 m (148 ft.) instrumentation tower was completed in August 2016 and began streaming data at that time. Terrestrial sampling and observations were fully launched in late September 2016. [6]