GIS Workshop
An LTER-sponsored geographic information systems (GIS) workshop was held in September 1989 at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins. Hosted by the Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) LIER site and directed by Ingrid Burke, the workshop provided 40 participants with a two-day introduction to GIS, a four- and a half-day ARC/INFO software training session, and a two-day ERDAS software training session. ARC/INFO and ERDAS are the industry standard vector and raster GIS software systems, both of which were designated as part of the LTER GIS minimum standard installation (MSI).
The first two sections of the workshop were held in a PC-386 and -286 laboratory with excellent video projection capabilities, the last two days in a SUN-386i facility. Following the training sessions, the group discussed the role of GIS in the LTER program and developed recommendations for site- and network-level GIS applications, and future implementation across the Network.
Remote Sensing
A two-day LTER Remote Sensing workshop organized by John Aber (Harvard Forest) was held in November 1989 at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space within the University of New Hampshire (UNH) at Durham. The purposes of the workshop were to:
- Build a network of scientists within LTER interested in remote sensing
- Stimulate cross-site research projects
- Determine the role of remote sensing technology in LTER research
In addition to wide participation by LTER sites, there were representatives from the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), UNH and Rutgers University.
Of six possible cross-site efforts proposed, an experiment to calibrate normalized vegetation index (NDVI) estimations of net primary productivity was selected as the most important and likely to yield results.
The group agreed to remain in contact to facilitate remote sensing work across LTER sites, and recommended that LTER: develop a remote sensing acquisitions policy and arrange for archiving and retrieval of data; show strong support for the high spectral and spatial resolution remote sensing effort under NASA’s Earth Observing Systems (EOS) program; and develop both models of ecosystem function and regional data basis through GIS technology, linking these to remote sensing data.
Stable Isotope Workshop
In September 1989 the Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, hosted an LTER stable isotope workshop led by Brian Fry. The workshop provided first-hand experience in using stable isotope methods, and LTER participants presented results from a total of 400 samples from 16 of the 17 sites collected and analyzed in the summer.
Working groups summarized findings for detecting nitrogen fixation and determining the structure of aquatic food webs. Participants were encouraged to incorporate stable isotope techniques into ongoing and planned research, collaborating with any of several laboratories in the LTER Network that already have or are starting stable isotope programs. As part of an intercalibration exercise, three readily available standard reference materials (bovine liver, citrus leaves and river sediment) from the National Bureau of Standards were analyzed in detail.