Digital Data in Biodiversity Research Conference

Scale matters in biology. The National Science Foundation supports biological research at multiple scales, from molecules to ecosystems; from individual investigators to team science; from local studies to continental scale research; from short-term studies to decadal research. Two major areas of NSF investment covering different timescales and geographical scales are Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), both of which produce rich data that are open access. While LTER is site-based research that is often heterogenous, NEON is constructed to collect nearly identical data across all its sites. LTER has been in existence for over 40 years while NEON is relatively new but planned for a 30-year lifespan. ESIIL, the Environmental Data Science Innovation and Inclusion Lab, exists to facilitate the use of these data resources and to diversify environmental data science. I will discuss how NSF hopes these resources will be utilized.

There are many drivers for NSF investment in LTER, NEON, and ESIIL. First, ecological and biological processes often take longer than a typical 3 to 5-year grant. Thus, we make investments in long-term data. Second, surprises, by definition, can’t be predicted and usually can’t be defined except through a long-term lens. Third, LTER and NEON sites can provide context for understanding and interpreting disparate biological phenomena. Finally, as new technologies, opportunities, questions, and problems arise the existence of a stable dataset for new interrogation is invaluable.