A new modeling approach could allow researchers to use remote sensing lidar data to predict small mammal biodiversity based on the structure of vegetation in an area. The study was led by Sarah Schooler, now a Ph.D. candidate at State University of New York (SUNY)–Syracuse, and Harold Zald of the Humboldt State University Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources. Lidar Prediction of Small Mammal Diversity in Wisconsin, published in Remote Sensing, explores how measurements of vegetation structure created with lidar data could be used to predict the diversity of small mammal communities.
In the middle of the country, you'll find a land of windswept prairies, cattle ranches and enormous fields of wheat, corn, sorghum, hay and alfalfa. This is the Central Plains (Domain 10), where agriculture rules.
This is an update to Notice of the re-scaling of 2019 spectrometer Albedo (L2 and L3). As of January, 31 2020 the data have been re-scaled and re-published to the data portal.
Previously, we identified an issue with the 2018 KONZ and BARR airborne (AOP) spectrometer (NIS) data products. As of 31 January 2020 the corrected data are available via the data portal.
The terrestrial instrument system (TIS) team identified that the 2D anemometers on the NEON towers were producing 2D wind data that did not correlate with 2D wind data collected at NEON meteorological stations nearby. The TIS team is in the process of identifying site- and measurement-level--specific dates of incorrect anemometer orientation so that these data can be corrected.
In recent years, the persistence of gender disparities in STEM fields has become a concern for educators, research institutions and commercial firms. We asked Dr. Nancy Glenn about her experience as a woman in ecology and how the field can continue to encourage gender diversity.
We have identified an issue with the early 2019 airborne (AOP) spectrometer (NIS) Level 2 and 3 Albedo data products for several sites. The data are being re-scaled.
West of the Mississippi and east of the Rockies lies a northern landscape dominated by wide-open spaces, prairie grasslands and an abundance of agriculture. Welcome to the Northern Plains Domain, NEON Domain 09.
Dr. Phoebe Zarnetske, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at Michigan State University (MSU), is using data from the NEON sites to investigate patterns in biodiversity and species traits across the continent. Her goal is to better understand the drivers that influence species distributions and community assembly.
The Southern Rockies and Colorado Plateau field sites offer some of the most stunning views in the observatory. But these fragile alpine, subalpine and high desert ecosystems are also threatened by climate change, pollution and invasive species.
Paula Mabee, the Nolop Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of South Dakota, has been selected as the Chief Scientist and Observatory Director of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON).
Kyla Dahlin and her team are using Airborne Remote Sensing data from five NEON sites to develop detailed 3D maps of forest structure. Their work, which was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), could provide new insights into the carbon storage potential of forests.
Land use changes and habitat loss have resulted in an overall loss of biodiversity across much of the country. Luis Carrasco, a post-doctoral fellow at NIMBioS, is leveraging NEON data to better understand the relationships between vegetation structure and density and bird biodiversity in forested ecosystems.
neonUtilities 1.3.2 is now available on CRAN! There are several updates in this version, primarily around improving performance and retaining more complete metadata from the original download.
Microbial community composition data products for all data analyzed after Jan 1, 2016 had an issue with the sequence data processing pipeline. This issue is causing the resulting community composition data to consist of very few counts and lower than expected diversity. We are in the process of evaluating the extent of the issue.
Imagine walking through the deciduous forests in Massachusetts early one spring, a gentle rain falling down on you. Taking a closer look, you now see thousands of hairy caterpillars in the trees.
To date, all NEON groundwater and surface water elevation data has had high uncertainty due to unstable survey reference points and delays in reporting field-based sensor position adjustments. In-the-field infrastructure upgrades will improve NEON water elevation data products at many aquatic sites.
It's that time again. Each year, NEON hires hundreds of temporary field scientists to assist our full-time field operations staff with observational sampling.
We recently discovered that unreasonably high soil moistures are sometimes being reported in the soil water content and salinity data product (DP1.00094.001) at many terrestrial sites.
We have identified issues with infrared gas analyzer pressure data stream mapping processed through October 28, 2019 (irrespective of data collect date) and are working to resolve them.
Adlafia neoniana (Naviculaceae) may be tiny, but it's got a big name to live up to. It's the first new species to be discovered on a NEON field site and named after the NEON program. So what is this newly discovered organism? A single-celled aquatic alga with a cell wall made of silica, known as a diatom.
A new partnership with the Arizona State University Global Airborne Observatory (ASU-GAO) will make more frequent airborne observations possible of NEON's Hawaii field site in the Pu`u Maka`ala Natural Area Reserve. The GAO team completed their first flyover of PUUM in January 2019, and these data are now available.
The exact composition of each local community is influenced by variables that include evolutionary history, current climate and interspecies competition or codependence. A new study led by Will Pearse of Utah State University is using NEON data to quantify the roles of these different variables in the assembly of ecological communities.
