Synthesis of spatio-temporal dynamics of biodiversity: Potential for LTER and NEON applications in ecological forecasting

Recently there has been a push for ecologists to make predictions, or forecasts, of their systems emphasizing short time frames. As opposed to forecasts projected out 50 or more years, near term forecasts have the potential affect management decisions and allow for verification of forecast proficiency in a reasonable timeframe. The study of metacommunities has >2 decades of research on the dynamics of spatially connected communities. Yet few studies incorporate metacommunity theory into ecological forecasts. Data collection efforts underway in the LTER and NEON networks offers an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of metacommunity theory and into ecological forecasts.