After one year of initial operations, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) has published more than 175 atmospheric, organismal, ecohydrological, biogeochemical, and land cover and process datasets from locations spread across 25 US states and territories. These data are collected with high frequency, consistency, and rigorous quality control standards, which enables network-wide comparability and a uniquely comprehensive dataset for investigating ecological change through time. Here, we explore early examples of ecological patterns, trends, and phenomena that can already be seen using NEON organismal data. Specifically, we focus on plant phenological patterns and species occurrences where they were previously unobserved. We compare these patterns and trends to those detected using other widely available data sources, to highlight the value of NEON data and ability of the network to augment and enhance information from other networks and organizations.
Results/Conclusions
NEON’s ability to detect ecological patterns, trends, and phenomena across measurement systems and taxa is first shown using one of the largest organismal data collection programs, that of plant phenology. Initial operations data are available from 42 of the 47 NEON’s terrestrial sites, with almost 1 million records to date. Data demonstrate how comprehensively phenophases are documented by NEON, because of the high frequency of collection and rigorous requirements. This expands upon more common measurements of phenophase onset and offset only, which provide information about phenophase duration, but not progression. Results support that NEON acts as an extension and enhancement of the National Phenology Network (NPN), to which NEON data collection methods are standardized. Next, we demonstrate the role of NEON data in documenting possible range expansion and movement of species, which are key indicators of the impacts of climate and land-use change on biodiversity. Examples of first occurrences for multiple taxa in new locations are provided, and compared to widely available range maps for the species. While it is too early to definitively attribute these findings to range shifts, they provide early evidence of possible changes in species occurrence patterns and NEON’s ability to detect such phenomena.