U.S. Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network

The U.S. Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network is a collaborative effort involving more than 1800 scientists and students investigating ecological processes over long temporal and broad spatial scales. The Network promotes synthesis and comparative research across sites and ecosystems and among other related national and international research programs. The National Science Foundation established the LTER program in 1980 to support research on long-term ecological phenomena in the United States.

The LTER program has organized its research around five core areas:

Pattern and control of primary production;
Spatial and temporal distribution of populations selected to represent trophic structures;
Pattern and control of organic matter accumulation and decomposition in surface layers and sediments;
Patterns of inorganic inputs and movements of nutrients through soils, groundwater and surface waters; and
Patterns and frequency of disturbances.

The 26 LTER Sites represent diverse ecosystems and research emphases. These sites include:

Andrews Experimental Forest, Blue River, Oregon
Upper Kuparuk River/Toolik Lake Watershed, Alaska
Baltimore Ecosystems Study (BES), Baltimore, Maryland
Bonanza Creek Experimental Forest and Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed, Alaska
Central Arizona - Phoenix Urban (CAP), Arizona
California Current Ecosystem (CCE), California
Cedar Creek Natural History Area (CDR), Minnesota
Coweeta Hydrological Laboratory, Appalachian Mountains, Georgia
Florida Coastal Everglades, Florida
Georgia Coastal Ecosystems, Georgia
Harvard Forest, Massachusetts
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire
Jornada Basin, Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico
Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan
Konza Prairie, Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas
Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico
McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Moorea Coral Reef, Moorea Island, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Niwot Ridge, Colorado
North Temperate Lakes, Wisconsin
Palmer Station, Antarctica
Plum Island Ecosystem, New England
Santa Barbara Coastal Zone, California
Sevilleta, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Shortgrass Steppe, Western Great Plains, Colorado
Virginia Coast Reserve, Eastern Shore, Virginia

The LTER Network Office coordinates communication, network publications, and research-planning activities.