Workshop-NEON: Integrating NEON ANPP Data with Existing Long-term and Spatially Extensive Data Sets - Providing Context and Testing Theory; 3 Meetings; Fort Collins, Co; 2016-2017

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

Land-based ecosystems account for two-thirds of global plant matter production, despite covering only a quarter of the Earth's surface. Indeed, the amount of carbon stored in plants in these ecosystems is equal to 75% of the carbon in the atmosphere. To understand how the Earth is functioning, we need to understand what controls continental-scale patterns of plant production as well as its dynamics through time. This is especially the case because we are living in an era of rapid environmental change, and there may be extreme variation in production that occurs from year to year, with dramatic impacts on agriculture, forestry and biofuel production. The newly constructed National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will provide an unparalleled spatial array of above ground production estimates which can be used to describe continental scale patterns of carbon uptake and storage in plants. During NEON's first several years, how can a long-term trend be identified and distinguished from short-term fluctuations? Fortunately, there are data sets on plant biomass production from several other long-term experimental sites across the U.S that predate the new network. A series of working meetings is being organized with the goal of using existing long-term production plant production data, shorter-term (2-4 year) spatially distributed production data from other, older networks, and ecosystem models to provide critical temporal context for evaluating and interpreting NEON's initial data. These workshops will calibrate an essential baseline for NEON plant production data, enhance the value of this important measurement and ultimately ensure the success of NEON. The workshops will also contribute to the professional development of several early-career scientists. Society will benefit from a greater understanding of the patterns and dynamics of plant biomass production across the US continent. The overarching goal of these NEON aboveground net primary production (ANPP) workshops will be to assess and evaluate NEON's emerging spatial ANPP dataset in the context of existing complementary long-term and spatially distributed ANPP data, and as represented by the current generation of ecosystem and global land models. Workshop activities will include (1) an in-depth analyses of this key NEON product, (2) rigorously testing theory about spatial vs. temporal climatic, biotic, and biogeochemical controls on ANPP at a continental scale and (3) utilizing state-of-the-art data-model fusion approaches to integrate NEON data with ecosystem and global carbon models. The latter will reduce the uncertainty between modeled and empirical ANPP data. The data set that results from the merging of the temporal depth of existing long-term ANPP data with the spatial breadth provided by NEON will be an invaluable resource for continental scaling, model benchmarking and testing long-standing theory regarding spatial patterns and temporal controls of ANPP in terrestrial ecosystems. The workshops will also support further training for a postdoctoral researcher, and will broaden participation in ecosystem science.