Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 by David Reichle 1 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 2 What are FACE Facilities? Environmental research facilities to conduct controlled CO 2 enrichment, and other manipulative experiments on intact ecosystems under natural environmental conditions.

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 3 FACE – Environmental Research User Facilities FACE evolved from experimental projects to user facilities Enable research on intact ecosystems under natural environmental conditions Consist of controlled CO 2, O 3 fumigation experiments Collectively constitute a distributed user facility across different geographic ecosystems Allow long-term, continuous measurements on ecological processes and responses Purpose: To study the response of ecosystems and ecological processes to environmental change

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 4 Questions Asked by BER in the FACE Review Are the BER-funded FACE facilities considered to be and recognized as scientific user facilities? Are the BER-funded FACE facilities effectively operated? Does a distributed FACE network offer significant opportunities for scientists? Can the FACE facilities be enhanced to attract more users? Can FACE sites be enhanced as a distributed user network?

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 5 FACE User Facilities SiteEcosystem TypeNo. RingsExperimental Variables DukeLoblolly pine 7 CO 2 – ambient +200 umol mol-1, daytime fumigation Oak RidgeSweetgum 6 CO 2 – 560 ppm, daytime fumigation NevadaDesert 9 CO 2 – 550 ppm, 24- hr. fumigation RhinelanderAspen, birch 12 CO 2 – 560 ppm, daytime fumigation, variable O 3

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 6 Rhinelander USDA USFS Research Station

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 7 Research Measurement at a Duke FACE Ring

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 8 FACE Review Process Briefing by DOE/BER Program Managers Site letter and questionnaires Reading of documents and websites Site visits with managers and operators Discussions with PIs Review of operations and user interactions

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 9 Advance Information Requested from Each Site 1.Names and institutional affiliations of users, dates of involvement, and nature of the collaboration 2.Information on user satisfaction and user feedback 3.Statistics on proposals approved and/or declined; description of user policy and proposal review/ approval procedure 4.Listings of publications with user coauthors identified with work funded by DOE and work funded by other sources indicated 5.Summary to date of DOE core funding and extramural funding that supported users

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 10 Evaluation of the FACE Sites as User Facilities ○ ●● ●● ●●● ● ◐ ◐ ◐ ◐ ◐ ● ◐ ● ● ◐ ◐ ◐ ● ● ● ●

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 11 Evaluation of the FACE Sites as User Facilities (cont.)

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 12 Key Findings FACE user facilities Are highly instrumented and calibrated ecosystems Are accessible and valuable to the user community Provide facility and infrastructure support Provide long-term continuity in measurements and data availability Could attract and accommodate more users Should better track users and user satisfaction Should better coordinate operational and experimental protocols Would improve performance as a network with a coordinating committee

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 13 Scientific Users at the FACE Facilities Scientific users are those doing research and excludes those responsible for core operations. (a) 1994 – June 2002, (b) April 1996 – May 2002, (c) 1997 – May 2002, and (d) data for 1997 – October Site Scientist PIs Tech. & RAs Postdoc- torals Grad Stud. Total Research Users Duke a Nevada b Oak Ridge c Rhinelander d

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 14 Publication Productivity from the FACE Facilities (a) published and in press, (b) 1994 – June 2002, (c) April 1996 – May 2002, (d) 1997 – May 2002, and (e) 1997 – October 2002 Site Peer- Reviewed Publications a Symposia/ Book Chap. Books Technical Reports ThesesTOTALPresentations Duke ( ) 125 b Nevada ( ) 32 c Oak Ridge ( ) 20 d Rhinelande r ( ) 42 e

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 15 Recommendations to DOE/BER Establish Cross-Site FACE Coordinating Committee Separate operational and research funding Ensure adequate and appropriate support staff Coordinate and promote FACE with other federal bodies

Presentation to the Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee December 3, 2002 An Evaluation of the Department of Energy’s Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Experiments as Scientific User Facilities 16 Recommendations to the FACE Facility Coordinating Committee Provide program integration and coordination Ensure formal user groups for each facility Track users and monitor user satisfaction Standardize core operations and measurements Measure science productivity and impact Contribute to strategic planning