Excess Samples

During the course of NEON sampling, more samples or greater volumes of samples are sometimes collected than are needed for downstream lab analyses or archiving in the NEON Biorepository. These excess samples can be requested by researchers through the NEON Assignable Assets program. In some cases, excess samples are housed for a limited time and can be retroactively requested, but most excess samples requests must be approved before sampling is conducted to ensure availability.

Excess samples are managed by either NEON staff at regional facilities (Table 1) or by staff at contracted laboratories (Table 2). NEON cannot guarantee access to samples managed at external facilities but can facilitate the request. All excess samples are separate from the specimens and samples archived in the NEON Biorepository. Researchers are encouraged to view the Biorepository catalog for complementary specimens.

Excess Samples Managed by NEON

Samples listed in the table below are managed by NEON staff at regional facilities and can be requested directly from NEON via the Excess Samples Request Form below.

*Note that NEON still has excess air-dried soil from sites in Puerto Rico (Guanica Forest and Lajas Experiment Station) collected in 2017 pre- and post-Hurricane Maria. While the sites did not incur massive hurricane damage, they did receive large amounts of rainfall, and Guanica Forest lost a number of trees.

Excess Samples Managed by Contracted Facilities

Samples listed in the below table are managed by external contracted facilities. Additional coordination is required to access these samples, and availability is determined by the contractor rather than NEON.

Requesting Excess Samples

To request Excess Samples managed by NEON:

1. Fill out the Excess Samples Request Form.
2. Submit Request form to AssignableAssetRequests@BattelleEcology.org

To request Excess Samples managed by Contracted Facilities, please Contact Us.

Shipping Excess Samples

Researchers are responsible for shipping costs and for obtaining and providing the appropriate permits for shipping, receiving and housing samples. For example, inter-state shipping may require USDA APHIS permits for soil, vegetation, or wood samples. Samples collected at National Park sites (i.e., D07 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, D10 Rocky Mountain National Park, and D12 Yellowstone National Park) or in D20 Hawaii are not available for excess sample requests.

Additional Excess Sample Questions

If you have questions regarding Excess Samples before submitting a request, or other Excess Sample related questions, please Contact Us.