Prof Phil Robertson (Michigan State University, USA) presenting at the AusLTER Forum 2018

1. 28 sites mainly US:
terrestrial, aquatic, marine biomes
+urban, agricultural sites
Funded by National Science
Foundation (NSF)
- 6 year funding cycle
- decentralized management
- site-based funding
First site funded in 1980, most recent
in 2016; 2-40 years of sustained
observations
Mission = place-based, hypothesis
driven science, long-term questions
U.S. Long Term Networks – 1. Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)

2. U.S. Long Term Networks – 2. Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR)
18 sites
- 9 cropland, 9 rangeland
Funded by US Department
of Agriculture (USDA)
First funded 2012
Mission = long-term
questions related to
sustainable
intensification

3. U.S. Long Term Networks – 3. National Ecological Observatory Network
(NEON)
20 primary sites
(+2 satellites each) to
represent climatic
ecoregions
Funded by National
Science Foundation (NSF)
-centrally managed
-common measurements
First funded in 2011
Mission = long-term
observations to detect
environmental change

4. KBS LTER Conceptual Model
Central Question (from 2018):
What mechanisms contribute to the
resilience of key ecosystem functions and
services in agricultural landscapes?
First funded 1988