The US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network: Site and Network Level Information Management Kristin Vanderbilt Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico USA

LTER Network Six LTER sites were established in 1980 with funding from NSF Six LTER sites were established in 1980 with funding from NSF Now there are 26 sites with 1800 associated scientists and students. Now there are 26 sites with 1800 associated scientists and students.

Research themes for all sites: Biodiversity Biodiversity Net primary productivity Net primary productivity Disturbance patterns Disturbance patterns Biogeochemistry Biogeochemistry

Goals of the LTER Network Understand general ecological phenomena that occur over long temporal and broad spatial scales Understand general ecological phenomena that occur over long temporal and broad spatial scales Conduct major data syntheses Conduct major data syntheses Provide information for the identification and solution of societal problems Provide information for the identification and solution of societal problems Create a legacy of well-designed and documented long-term experiments and observations for use by future generations Create a legacy of well-designed and documented long-term experiments and observations for use by future generations

Data are the legacy of the LTER Network Integration of information management with research has been part of the LTER mandate since the beginning Integration of information management with research has been part of the LTER mandate since the beginning The goal of information management is to make high quality, well- documented data easy to find, access, and use now and in the future The goal of information management is to make high quality, well- documented data easy to find, access, and use now and in the future

LTER Data Release Policy Data and information derived from publicly funded research in the U.S. LTER Network … are to be made available online with as few restrictions as possible, on a nondiscriminatory basis. Data and information derived from publicly funded research in the U.S. LTER Network … are to be made available online with as few restrictions as possible, on a nondiscriminatory basis.

LTER Data Release Policy Data and information derived from publicly funded research in the U.S. LTER Network … are to be made available online with as few restrictions as possible, on a nondiscriminatory basis. Data and information derived from publicly funded research in the U.S. LTER Network … are to be made available online with as few restrictions as possible, on a nondiscriminatory basis. There are two data types: There are two data types: –Type I – data are to be released to the general public within 2 years from collection and no later than the publication of the main findings from the dataset and, –Type II - data are to be released to restricted audiences according to terms specified by the owners of the data. Type II data are considered to be exceptional and should be rare in occurrence. Some examples of Type II data restrictions may include: locations of rare or endangered species, data that are covered under prior licensing or copyright (e.g., SPOT satellite data), or covered by the Human Subjects Act.

Information Management responsibilities differ at site and network levels: –quality data and metadata must be archived and made accessible at each LTER Site –And tools must be created to integrate site databases across the LTER Network

26 LTER sites = 26 different approaches to information management Structure and content of metadata vary Structure and content of metadata vary Mechanisms for storing and manipulating data differ Mechanisms for storing and manipulating data differ –flat ASCII files, RDBMS; Matlab, SAS, SQL Different search mechanisms for data Different search mechanisms for data

Typical LTER Site Information Management System Designated information manager (IM) Designated information manager (IM) Standard procedures for working with data to ensure adequate documentation and quality assurance Standard procedures for working with data to ensure adequate documentation and quality assurance Hardware for data storage Hardware for data storage A web-page A web-page Back-up system Back-up system

Project Initiation: Scientist submits protocols and project description to IM Information Management Procedures at the Sevilleta LTER

Data Entry and QA/QC by Scientist Project Initiation: Scientist submits protocols and project description to IM Data Collection Information Management Procedures at the Sevilleta

Data Entry and QA/QC by scientist Project Initiation: scientist submits protocols and project description to IM Data Collection Metadata submitted by scientist in Excel Template Metadata and data reviewed by IM Information Management Procedures at the Sevilleta

Data Entry and QA/QC by scientist Project Initiation: scientist submits protocols and project description to IM Data Collection Metadata submitted by scientist in Excel Template Metadata and data reviewed by IM ASCII file created containing data and metadata Files archived on Sevilleta server Information Management Procedures at the Sevilleta

Sevilleta data are stored in an ASCII text file with a defined structure: \log History of the data file (when created, updated, errors fixed, etc.) \doc Metadata \header Variable names \data Data records

Sevilleta Data Archive Data sets are stored in directories clustered by theme…. archive nutrient animal plant phenologynpptransect decompositionsoilN

Data Entry and QA/QC by scientist Project Initiation: PI submits protocols and project description to IM Data Collection Metadata submitted by PI in Excel Template Metadata and data reviewed by IM ASCII file created containing data and metadata Files archived on Sevilleta server Data Made Web Accessible Information Management Procedures at the Sevilleta

Ecological Information Management System at Sevilleta illustrates: An IM system can be built with readily available tools An IM system can be built with readily available tools –Excel –ASCII text files –Web page design tool IT genius not required; these tools are easy to learn IT genius not required; these tools are easy to learn

Long Term Ecological Research Network Information Management System

Objective of the NIS Enhance discovery and access to data across LTER sites in order to facilitate synthesis and collaborative ecological research Enhance discovery and access to data across LTER sites in order to facilitate synthesis and collaborative ecological research

Strategies for enhancing data discovery and access: Adopt Ecological Metadata Language (EML) as standard Adopt Ecological Metadata Language (EML) as standard Establish an all-site data catalog based on EML Establish an all-site data catalog based on EML Establish a single-portal web interface for querying catalog Establish a single-portal web interface for querying catalog

Adoption of a metadata standard is key to building NIS Ecological Metadata Language (EML) is an XML-based standard Ecological Metadata Language (EML) is an XML-based standard –XML is similar to HTML, except the tags are customized to reflect the information content

Why are metadata standardized ? Use a common set of understandable terms; information is described in a similar way Use a common set of understandable terms; information is described in a similar way Location of information (metadata descriptors) can be found in the same place; facilitating entry & retrieval Location of information (metadata descriptors) can be found in the same place; facilitating entry & retrieval “Tools” can be built; e.g., metadata entry and searches can be automated “Tools” can be built; e.g., metadata entry and searches can be automated

Sevilleta LTER Net Primary Productivity Data 2004 Dr. Esteban Muldavin Net primary production (NPP) is a fundamental ecological variable that measures rates of carbon consumption and fixation. biomass ANPP LTER Information Manager Example of EML

Morpho: A tool for creating EML

LTER Metacat SEV EML CAP EML JRN EML CWT EML

Excerpt from: Report on the CODATA Workshop on Archiving Scientific and Technical (S&T) Data, May 2002, Pretoria, South Africa Managing S&T Data: Preservation in the Broader Context: Needs for future access of data Managing S&T Data: Preservation in the Broader Context: Needs for future access of data –Shared standards and best practices for repository management, federated archives, and metadata –An integrated framework … that provides a shared way of communicating and standard technology

Excerpt from: Report on the CODATA Workshop on Archiving Scientific and Technical (S&T) Data, May 2002, Pretoria, South Africa Managing S&T Data: Preservation in the Broader Context: Needs for future access of data Managing S&T Data: Preservation in the Broader Context: Needs for future access of data –Shared standards and best practices for repository management, federated archives, and metadata LTER approach: LTER Network data release policy, NIS, EML LTER approach: LTER Network data release policy, NIS, EML –An integrated framework … that provides a shared way of communicating and standard technology

Excerpt from: Report on the CODATA Workshop on Archiving Scientific and Technical (S&T) Data, May 2002, Pretoria, South Africa Managing S&T Data: Preservation in the Broader Context: Needs for future access of data Managing S&T Data: Preservation in the Broader Context: Needs for future access of data –Shared standards and best practices for repository management, federated archives, and metadata LTER approach: LTER Network data release policy, NIS, EML LTER approach: LTER Network data release policy, NIS, EML –An integrated framework … that provides a shared way of communicating and standard technology LTER approach: LTER Metacat metadata database and centralized data catalog LTER approach: LTER Metacat metadata database and centralized data catalog