The Nutrient Network's approach to interoperable data: Protocol and data standardization for coordinated distributed experiments

The Nutrient Network (NutNet) is, in many ways, an experimental response to challenges of interoperable data in ecology. By providing standardized experimental protocols adopted by 140 sites in 26 countries since 2007, NutNet overcomes drawbacks from other approaches (e.g., meta-analysis, single-site experiments) for understanding mechanistic causation of ecological responses. Key to its success was (1) developing a protocol that minimized site-level cost and effort while yielding high-quality data and (2) centralizing data management and quality control to provide accessible, standardized data. I will share NutNet’s philosophy and process for providing findable, accessible, and high-quality data for the ecological community.