Orgovany-Agasegyhaza site for studying production-diversity relations and weather effect of productivity.

GLORIA Master Site.The 3497m-peak Mount Schrankogel belongs to the highest mountains of the Austrian Alps. Its northern and eastern side is surrounded by glaciers and glacier forelands. Its southern to western faces, however, are not interrupted by glacier Established in 1994 as the first comprehensive alpine to nival long-term monitoring site for high-altitude vegetation in the Alps, with ca. 1000 permanent plots of 1x1m arranged in transects of 30x3m or smaller ranging from 2900m to 3450m. Main purpose is ecological climate impact research. In 2001 it became a master site of the GLORIA network: e.g. method development and testing for species recording in 1x1m plots for GLORIA was partly conducted on Schrankogel. The first major resurvey of plots was made in 2004, the second resurvey was conducted in 2014. Besides long-term monitoring, several other research approaches were/are carried out at the Schrankogel site, such as species and vegetation modeling, vegetation mapping, phenological studies of alpine and nival plants, exclosure studies for grazing impacts at the lower altitudes of the site, soil studies, snow pattern studies (two permanent snow cameras), surface and soil-temperature measurements. In 2014, the the scope was extended to other organism groups such as soil microbiota, soil mesofauna (Oribatida and Collembola in particular), and surface-dwelling arthropods. Site setup, resurveys, or other activities were/are supported by: the Austrian Academy of Sciences through a national grant of the International Geosphere–Biosphere and the UNESCO MaB Programmes, by the Austrian and through the Institute of Mountain Research (IGF) of the Academy; by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research; the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management; the Swiss MAVA Foundation; the Government of Tyrol; the project ALARM (Assessing Large-Scale Risks for Biodiversity with Tested Methods; No. GOCE-CT-2003-506675) in the FP-6 of the EU; the Austrian Climate Research Programme (ACRP: GZ B368633 ACRP6 - SCHRANKOGEL_20YEARS - KR13AC6K11076). For further details on Schrankogel_GLORIA see: http://www.gloria.ac.at/?a=42&b=56

Guanica Forest is a core terrestrial field site, located in the Guánica Dry Forest reserve and is part of the NEON Altantic Neotropical domain 04. The Guánica Dry Forest which includes the largest tract of dry tropical coastal forest in the world. The area was once underwater, and the forest grows in limestone (karstic soil) formed from ancient coral reefs. It is located on the southwestern shore of the island, where a heat island effect displaces rain-carrying clouds and creates a warmer, dryer climate. The town of Guánica, with a population of just over 9,000, is situated on the outskirts of the reserve. The GUAN field site is located on land managed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. NEON researchers work closely with the department to minimize their impact on endangered species in the area. The data collection systems at GUAN include airborne remote sensing surveys, automated instrument measurements and observational field sampling. The meteorological/flux tower is 66' with five measurement levels. There are also multiple plots for soil sensors and sampling and organismal sampling including birds, ticks and mosquitoes. At both D04 terrestrial field sites, scientists collected small mammal data from 2016-2017. Small mammal sampling protocols are currently suspended due to safety issues.

The Soaproot Saddle is a complex terrain of coarse hills, steep slopes and narrow drainages. located in the middle elevations of the Sierra National Forest 35 miles northeast of Fresno, near Auberry, California. With an elevation of 3274 - 4537' this site encompasses 1438 acres of mixed conifer forests that are experiencing high levels of mortality due to native Pine beetles. Targeted research addresses a range of concerns and provides much of the direction in resource management. Wildland fire is of particular concern at SOAP, where foresters use a combination of prescribed fire and mechanical fuel treatment to minimize damage while maintaining a healthy fire regime. At the core of this site stands a 171' tall flux tower that collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere and related process. Soaproot Saddle also hosts an array of sensor measurements along with field observations collected by highly trained NEON staff. The automated instrument measurements and some of the terrestrial observational safor this field site are colocated with NEON's aquatic site, Upper Big Creek, which is located just north of Soaproot Saddle's site boundaries. Total data products planned for this site: 112

Lower Teakettle (TEAK) has been designated as one of two relocatable terrestrial sites for the Pacific Southwest domain 17. The core aquatic site, Teakettle Creek, is just south of the terrestrial site. Teakettle is located 80 km east of Fresno, CaliforniaLower Teakettle is part of the Sierra National Forest, federal public land administered by the U.S. Forest Service. The southernmost portion of TEAK overlaps with the Teakettle Experimental Forest, managed by the Pacific Southwest Research Station, which represents the Forest Service Research and Development (FS R&D). Although research at the Experimental Forest historically focused on watershed management and climate science, more recent topics have investigated the effects of fire and thinning treatments on mixed conifer ecosystems. Long-term databases include streamflow and sedimentation, bird census data, and snag distribution and turnover. The Southern Sierra Critical Zone Observatory maintains a flux tower at Shorthair Creek, the subalpine belt of a tower transect which also includes infrastructure at SJER and SOAP. The Critical Zone Observatory collects data on water, carbon and nutrient cycling across the rain-snow transition in the southern Sierra Nevada.

The Healy (HEAL) terrestrial field site is located on public land managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and surrounded on three sides by Denali National Park and Preserve and just outside the tiny town of Healy, Alaska. This is an "Upland Tundra" ecosystem positioned above the tree line in the foothills of the Alaska Range. As a result of the elevation, the ecosystem is more similar to the Arctic Tundra, with a few stands of spruce in an otherwise treeless environment and continuous permafrost. HEAL covers 54.2 km2 (17.5 square miles) and includes a 26' meteorological/flux tower and in-ground soil sensors. For observational field sampling, there are 30 tower base plots established in the tower's airshed, and 30 more distributed base plots, and several bird and mammal grids and tick and mosquito collection plots across the field site. Total data products planned for this site: 114

The NEON site at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (KONZ) is a tallgrass prairie preserve terrestrial field site located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas just 10km south of Manhattan, KS. It is hosted by the Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. The KONZ site is the core site encompassed in the NEON Prairie Peninsula Domain, which includes the largest remaining areas of unplowed tallgrass prairie in North America. The Prairie Peninsula domain consists of grasslands, forests, and agricultural cover types. The Domain hosts four other NEON field sites, two aquatic and two relocatable terrestrial, all of which are located in Kansas. The flux/meteorological tower at this site is 26' with 4 measurement levels.The tower top extends above the vegetation canopy to allow sensors mounted at the top and along the tower to capture the full profile of atmospheric conditions from the top of the vegetation canopy to the ground. The tower collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere-related processes, such as humidity, wind, and net ecosystem gas exchange. Precipitation data are collected by a tipping bucket at the top of the tower and a series of throughfalls located in the soil array. This site has five soil plots placed in an array within the airshed of the flux tower. Field ecologists collect the following types of observational data at this site: Terrestrial organisms (birds, ground beetles, mosquitoes, plants, small mammals, soil microbes, ticks), Biogeochemical data, and soil data. Total data products planned for this site: 114

The NEON site KONA is located only 5 km west of the Konza Prairie and is focused on sampling within agricultural systems. Sampling occurs in area of cultivated crop fields owned and managed by Kansas State University's Departments of Agronomy and Animal Science. The KONA site is one of the two relocatable sites encompassed in the NEON Prairie Peninsula Domain, which includes the largest remaining areas of unplowed tallgrass prairie in North America. The Prairie Peninsula domain consists of grasslands, forests, and agricultural cover types. The Domain hosts four other NEON field sites, two aquatic and two terrestrial, all of which are located in Kansas. Remote sensing surveys of this field site collect lidar, spectrometer and high-resolution RGB camera data. The flux/meteorological tower at this site is 26’ with 4 measurement levels. The tower top extends above the vegetation canopy to allow sensors mounted at the top and along the tower to capture the full profile of atmospheric conditions from the top of the vegetation canopy to the ground. The tower collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere-related processes, such as humidity, wind, and net ecosystem gas exchange. Precipitation data are collected by a tipping bucket at the top of the tower and a series of throughfalls located in the soil array. This site has five soil plots placed in an array within the airshed of the flux tower. Field ecologists collect the following types of observational data at this site: Terrestrial organisms (birds, ground beetles, mosquitoes, plants, small mammals, soil microbes, ticks), Biogeochemical data, and soil data. Over 100 data products are generated from this field site.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is a relocatable terrestrial site and part of NEON's Mid-Altantic Domain 2 sites. SERC is located in Anne Arundel county, Maryland and managed by the Smithsonian Institute. Located along the Rhode River, the location has diverse habitats ranging from decidous forests, wetlands, and estuaries. Remote sensing surveys of this field site collect lidar, spectrometer and high-resolution RGB camera data. The flux/meteorological tower at this site is 204ft with 6 measurement levels. The tower top extends above the vegetation canopy to allow sensors mounted at the top and along the tower to capture the full profile of atmospheric conditions from the top of the vegetation canopy to the ground. The tower collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere-related processes, such as humidity, wind, and net ecosystem gas exchange. Precipitation data are collected by a tipping bucket at the top of the tower and a series of throughfalls located in the soil array. There are also multiple plots for soil sensors and sampling and organismal sampling including birds, ticks, mammals, ground beetles, soil microbes, and mosquitoes. Total data products planned for this site: 116

The Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) is a core terrestrial field site in NEON's Central Plains Domain 10. CPER is located at the western edge of the Pawnee National Grasslands in Colorado, 19 kilometers northeast of Nunn, Colorado. Remote sensing surveys of this field site collect lidar, spectrometer and high-resolution RGB camera data. The flux/meteorological tower at this site is 26' with 4 measurement levels. The tower top extends above the vegetation canopy to allow sensors mounted at the top and along the tower to capture the full profile of atmospheric conditions from the top of the vegetation canopy to the ground. The tower collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere-related processes, such as humidity, wind, and net ecosystem gas exchange. Precipitation data are collected by a tipping bucket at the top of the tower and a series of throughfalls located in the soil array. This site has five soil plots placed in an array within the airshed of the flux tower. Field ecologists collect the following types of observational data at this site: Terrestrial organisms (birds, ground beetles, mosquitoes, plants, small mammals, soil microbes, ticks), Biogeochemical data, and soil data. Total data products planned for this site: 113