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It is a critical time to reflect on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) science to date as well as envision what research can be done right now with NEON (and other) data and what training is needed to enable a diverse user community. NEON became fully operational in May 2019 and has pivoted from planning and construction to operation and maintenance. In this overview, the history of and foundational thinking around NEON are discussed. A framework of open science is described with a discussion of how NEON can be situated as part of a larger data constellation—across existing networks and different suites of ecological measurements and sensors. Next, a synthesis of early NEON science, based on >100 existing publications, funded proposal efforts, and emergent science at the very first NEON Science Summit (hosted by Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder in October 2019) is provided. Key questions that the ecology community will address with NEON data in the next 10 yr are outlined, from understanding drivers of biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales to defining complex feedback mechanisms in human–environmental systems. Last, the essential elements needed to engage and support a diverse and inclusive NEON user community are highlighted: training resources and tools that are openly available, funding for broad community engagement initiatives, and a mechanism to share and advertise those opportunities. NEON users require both the skills to work with NEON data and the ecological or environmental science domain knowledge to understand and interpret them. This paper synthesizes early directions in the community’s use of NEON data, and opportunities for the next 10 yr of NEON operations in emergent science themes, open science best practices, education and training, and community building.

Pediatric patients who undergo spinal corrective surgery often require multiple blood product transfusions. The use of antifibrinolytics, especially tranexamic acid (TXA), to mitigate intraoperative blood loss has increased in popularity. The goal of this quality improvement project was to evaluate provider compliance with a TXA dosing protocol during pediatric corrective spine procedures. A retrospective chart review was conducted to compare pre- and postimplementation data on cell saver and packed red blood cell (PRBC) administration and dose of antifibrinolytic administered. A total of 486 patients (68% idiopathic and 32% neuromuscular) were evaluated over a 9-year period. Following implementation of the protocol, patients of idiopathic origin experienced a 20% reduction in cell saver administration, a 10% reduction in PRBC administration, and a 37% increase in provider compliance with the dosing protocol. Patients of neuromuscular origin experienced a 53% increase in provider compliance with the recommended TXA dosing protocol; however, this patient population did not experience a statistically significant reduction in transfusion requirements. Implementation of an antifibrinolytic protocol can facilitate compliance with recommended TXA dosing parameters and potentially decrease intraoperative blood loss, reducing blood product transfusion requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenology is an integrative science that comprises the study of recurring biological activities or events. In an era of rapidly changing climate, the relationship between the timing of those events and environmental cues such as temperature, snowmelt, water availability, or day length are of particular interest. This article provides an overview of the observer-based plant phenology sampling conducted by the U.S. National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the resulting data, and the rationale behind the design. Trained technicians will conduct regular in situ observations of plant phenology at all terrestrial NEON sites for the 30-yr life of the observatory. Standardized and coordinated data across the network of sites can be used to quantify the direction and magnitude of the relationships between phenology and environmental forcings, as well as the degree to which these relationships vary among sites, among species, among phenophases, and through time. Vegetation at NEON sites will also be monitored with tower-based cameras, satellite remote sensing, and annual high-resolution airborne remote sensing. Ground-based measurements can be used to calibrate and improve satellite-derived phenometrics. NEON's phenology monitoring design is complementary to existing phenology research efforts and citizen science initiatives throughout the world and will produce interoperable data. By collocating plant phenology observations with a suite of additional meteorological, biophysical, and ecological measurements (e.g., climate, carbon flux, plant productivity, population dynamics of consumers) at 47 terrestrial sites, the NEON design will enable continental-scale inference about the status, trends, causes, and ecological consequences of phenological change.

Global change drivers influence ecological processes at multiple scales and manifest across most of Earth as changes in biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, infectious disease incidence, and ecohydrology. Small-scale investigations provide compelling evidence of specific effects of global change on local systems, but are of limited use in modeling complex ecological processes at continental-to-global scales. Long-term observations distributed across a diversity of habitat types are needed to improve the ability to forecast ecological change at large spatial and temporal scales. This special issue introduces the Terrestrial Observation System ( TOS) of the National Ecological Observatory Network ( NEON), a long-term, continental-scale ecological research platform designed to deliver these large-scale datasets. The TOS measures biodiversity of key biota (soil microbes, insects, plants, small mammals), ecosystem productivity and biogeochemistry, infectious disease dynamics, phenology, and population dynamics. The articles in this special issue describe the scientific rationale for the sampling designs of the TOS, including an overview of protocols, locations, and frequencies of measurements. The science designs are a culmination of design requirements scoped by NEON and the National Science Foundation, best available practices put forth by the scientific community, input from technical working groups, and consideration of logistical and financial constraints by NEON staff. Within each site, measurements have been collocated to the extent possible to optimize linkages among different sampling elements. Integrated analyses of terrestrial observations with sensor-based, imagery, and remote-sensing data collected by other NEON subsystems can facilitate scaling of measured parameters to larger spatial and temporal scales. NEON is designed to collect data for 30 years, and make these data freely available on a public data portal (). Samples and specimens will be archived and available to the scientific community upon request. The open access approach to the Observatory will provide users with the resources necessary to map, understand, and predict the effects of global change drivers on ecological processes at a continental scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland prairies of western Oregon and Washington are among the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. Active management and restoration are needed to promote biodiversity in the region. To support plant production for use in habitat restoration, we developed germination protocols for greenhouse propagation of Iris tenax (Oregon iris). Dormancy was most effectively overcome (63% germination) by four weeks of warm stratification at 20/30°C followed by 6–12 weeks of cold stratification at 5°C suggesting that I. tenax may have morphophysiological dormancy. This result was consistent across multiple source populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland prairies of western Oregon and Washington are among the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. Active management and restoration are needed to promote biodiversity in the region. To support plant production for use in habitat restoration, we developed germination protocols for greenhouse propagation of Iris tenax (Oregon iris). Dormancy was most effectively overcome (63% germination) by four weeks of warm stratification at 20/30°C followed by 6–12 weeks of cold stratification at 5°C suggesting that I. tenax may have morphophysiological dormancy. This result was consistent across multiple source populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]