Site News

In the last 10 years the Luquillo (LUQ) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program has developed and incorporated educational programs (the Schoolyard) and ecological curriculums (the Journey to El Yunque) that integrate teachers and students from the public school networks throughout the island of Puerto Rico. Other than these programs, few outreach activities or educational materials have been developed to assist and improve the general public’s knowledge and appreciation of the natural resources in their environment, especially those associated with the streams draining through the Luquillo Mountains.

The Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program recently opened a self-guided walking tour designed for the general public and school groups. The walking tour offers a chance to explore some of the LTER research taking place at KBS via a three-quarter mile walk around the LTER’s Main Cropping System Experiment. Visitors can enjoy nature while learning how scientists at KBS conduct research in agricultural ecology.

With a focus on New England forests, Harvard Forest is making great strides in public, media, and decision-maker outreach

This summer, researchers at the Harvard Forest (HFR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, assisted by scientists from the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS), continued a census of woody stems begun in summer 2010 within a new 35 hectare (over 86 acres) plot at Harvard Forest. This “mega-plot” is part of a global array of large-scale monitoring plots established by Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum (AA) and CTFS, and recently expanded by the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Earth Observatory (SIGEO) to explore ecosystem processes beyond population dynamics and biodiversity. Given the plot’s location in the shadow of several eddy-flux towers, which measure carbon exchange between forests and the atmosphere, and spanning two watersheds, the resulting data will integrate with and deepen ongoing LTER, NEON (National Ecological Observation Network), and Department of Energy (DOE) studies.

Charles Clarkson, a Ph.D student working at the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) LTER was featured on the local National Public Radio on Tuesday, August 30, 2011.

PETERSHAM, Mass. (August 29, 2011) – New results from the first study of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in forests shows that the invasive insect can easily spread from tree-lined city streets to neighboring forests.

In 2011, the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MCM) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program enters its fourth funding cycle with several new Principal Investigators (PIs) and a focus on the theme of ecological connectivity. Building on eighteen years of LTER activity in this polar desert, the MCM IV research will investigate how the Dry Valley ecosystem will respond to the future climate warming that is predicted in East Antarctica. 

To acknowledge the broad community that contributes to and manages the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, we have officially added four people as official Co-Principal Investigators:

Researchers from the Hubbard Brook (HBR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program–John Campbell, Ruth Yanai and Mark Green–convened a workshop attended by 15 scientists in Boston, MA in March 2011 to discuss how to address uncertainty in calculating biogeochemical inputs and outputs at the small watershed scale.

Mass Audubon Education Coordinator Elizabeth Duff was recently named Massachusetts Marine Educator of the Year. This prestigious award is given annually to an individual who fosters interest, appreciation and love of the marine environment while serving as a role model for marine stewardship to the community at large.