LTER Information Servers

Published:
Oct 18, 1993
Issue: 
Network News Fall 1993, Vol. 14 No. 1
Section:
Information Management
By: 
Rudolf Nottrott

Using the latest information server software available on the national Internet (gopher and WAIS) several LTER sites and the LTER Network Office have begun to implement a unified mechanism to access on-line information.

New information server software on the national Internet provides simple access to on-line information

Accessing the LTERnet Information Server

From any Internet host, use gopher or telnet to connect to LTERnet.edu. With telnet, log in as user lteris. Access is menu-driven and includes functions to search files.

LTERnet Information Server

  1. About the Long-Term Ecological Research Network
  2. Basic LTER documentation
  3. LTER Core Dataset Catalog
  4. LTER Personnel Directory
  5. LTER Bibliographic Catalog
  6. LTER Electronic News Groups
  7. LTER Newsletters and Bulletins
  8. LTER Site Information Servers
  9. Reports
  10. Other Gopher and Information Servers

For example, if a user selects 8, LTER Site Information Servers, from the main menu above, the following menu appears. Entering one of these site information servers (the list is growing!) works similarly.

  1. Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (CWT)
  2. H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest (AND)
  3. Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBR)
  4. Konza Prairie (KNZ)
  5. Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR)

Try a few test searches for a taste of the information now accessible on LTERnet

Searching

To try a search function, enter the Core Dataset Catalog or the Personnel Directory in the LTER Information Server’s main menu, then choose 1. Search.

  1. Search the Core Dataset Catalog <?>
  2. Files in ASCII text (*.txt) and WordPerfect (*.wp)
  3. ReadMe

At the prompt, type disturbance as the index word for which to search. A list of dataset titles appears:

Search the Core Dataset Catalog: disturbance

  1. CDR017 Data Set Title: Nitrogen X Disturbance (Field B)…
  2. NWT002 Data Set Title: Pocket Gopher (Thomomys talpoides)...
  3. AND008 Data Set Title: Plant Biomass Dynamics Following Loggi…
  4. AND011 Data Set Title: H. J. Andrews Watershed 1 and 3 Plant… 
  5. CPR008 Data Set Title: Recovery of Shortgrass Steppe Plant…
  6. AND0I5 Data Set Title: Riparian Geomorphic Surface-Vegetation… 
  7. CDR01 9 Data Set Title: Tree Competition Garden Investigato. . .

…more

Select 5, Recovery of Shortgrass Steppe Plant..., for example, and the entry below appears:

Data Set Title:

Recovery of Shortgrass Steppe Plant Communities From Small-Scale (0.1-100 m2) Disturbance Investigator(s): Debra P. Coffin, William K. Lauenroth
Temporal and Spatial Resolution
Initiation of study (mm/dd/yy): 07/01/84
Sampling frequency: annually
Number of sites: 2
Algorithms used to synthesize data (if applicable):

Abstract:
Effects of disturbance size and type on shortgrass plant communities have been evaluated for small-scale disturbance since 1984. Plant cover
…more

This is just a taste of the information now accessible on LTERnet. After trying a few test searches, send comments and suggestions to Rudolf Nottrott at the LTER Network Office, rNottrott@LTERnet.edu, 206-543-8492.