Long-term Environmental Research Research Articles

Developing an environmental research platform in the Karoo at the Square Kilometre Array

A part of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will be constructed in the northern Karoo of South Africa on approximately 135 000 ha of land. This land is formerly privately owned rangelands (farms) that were purchased by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF), on which the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory, as part of the global SKA project, will erect the SKA infrastructure. Additionally, a long-term environmental research programme will be established to investigate various dryland ecosystem components at a landscape scale. Livestock has been removed from the farms, and the area is now managed by the South African National Parks (SANParks) as the Meerkat National Park. The land-use and land cover changes present an unprecedented opportunity to study ecosystem dynamics. The property will be established as an NRF science park, incorporating an SKA research platform for radio astronomy and an environmental research platform of the South African Environmental Observation Network, with additional environmental research conducted by SANParks and their collaborators. We briefly describe current knowledge of the area’s environment, and report on past and contemporary changes in this part of the Karoo. We present a conceptual model for the larger landscape which considers possible future land-use scenarios, the projected trajectories of change under these scenarios, and factors influencing these trajectories. These deliberations represent the foundation for future research in this landscape and the development of an environmental observation research platform in the Karoo at SKA.Significance: We summarise an extensive environmental baseline report on the SKA property and surrounding areas. Withdrawal of livestock and other changes – such as clearing of alien invasive plants, reduced predator control and reduction in water-point maintenance – are expected to bring about changes in ecological processes and plant and animal communities. We present a conceptual model of scenarios to test possible future trajectories as a first step towards an earth system science research platform in the NRF science park.

Approaches to the selection of phytoplancton monitoring stations on the example of North Odessa Cape

The selection of monitoring stations is one of the important methodological tasks to be solved in the process of planning long-term environmental research. This determines the need to find approaches that meet the criteria of the EU Marine Strategy when selecting coastal phytoplankton monitoring stations. One of them is the use of the results of the interpretation of satellite data. They can be an effective tool in analyzing the heterogeneity of water mass distribution in the area where coastal monitoring is planned and allow to determine the water area to which its results can be extended. The next stage is a comprehensive study, which analyzes the heterogeneity of the distribution of phytoplankton in the local coastal waters and identifies the factors that determine these differences. According to the results of this analysis, the optimal location and number of monitoring stations is determined. These approaches are demonstrated by the example of studies of the local coastal Black Sea area. Analysis of the distribution of phytoplankton at 6 stations in the area of North Odessa Cape revealed significant differences in the vertical and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton. Studies of hydrological (surface temperature, turbidity and flow direction) and hydrochemical parameters have explained these differences as a consequence of the influence of specific factors. The main ones were the different nature of water exchange and differences in the content of organic and mineral forms of nutrients at stations. This led to different types of biomass distribution at stations and even significant differences in the taxonomic structure of phytoplankton groups within the local water area. The conducted research allowed to determine locations where the impact of natural features of shores, artificial coastal structures and sources of coastal eutrophication is minimal. This allows them to be used as permanent monitoring stations in accordance with the standards of the EU Maritime Strategy.

The UK Environmental Change Network datasets – integrated and co-located data for long-term environmental research (1993–2015)

Abstract. Long-term datasets of integrated environmental variables, co-located together, are relatively rare. The UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) was launched in 1992 and provides the UK with its only long-term integrated environmental monitoring and research network for the assessment of the causes and consequences of environmental change. Measurements, covering a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological “driver” and “response” variables are made in close proximity at ECN terrestrial sites using protocols incorporating standard quality control procedures. This paper describes the datasets (there are 19 published ECN datasets) for these co-located measurements, containing over 20 years of data (1993–2015). The data and supporting documentation are freely available from the NERC Environmental Information Data Centre under the terms of the Open Government Licence using the following DOIs. Meteorology Meteorology: https://doi.org/10.5285/fc9bcd1c-e3fc-4c5a-b569-2fe62d40f2f5 (Rennie et al., 2017a) Biogeochemistry Atmospheric nitrogen chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/baf51776-c2d0-4e57-9cd3-30cd6336d9cf (Rennie et al., 2017b) Precipitation chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/18b7c387-037d-4949-98bc-e8db5ef4264c (Rennie et al., 2017c) Soil solution chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/b330d395-68f2-47f1-8d59-3291dc02923b (Rennie et al., 2017d) Stream water chemistry: https://doi.org/10.5285/fd7ca5ef-460a-463c-ad2b-5ad48bb4e22e (Rennie et al., 2017e) Stream water discharge: https://doi.org/10.5285/8b58c86b-0c2a-4d48-b25a-7a0141859004 (Rennie et al., 2017f) Invertebrates Moths: https://doi.org/10.5285/a2a49f47-49b3-46da-a434-bb22e524c5d2 (Rennie et al., 2017g) Butterflies: https://doi.org/10.5285/5aeda581-b4f2-4e51-b1a6-890b6b3403a3 (Rennie et al., 2017h) Carabid beetle: https://doi.org/10.5285/8385f864-dd41-410f-b248-028f923cb281 (Rennie et al., 2017i) Spittle bugs: https://doi.org/10.5285/aff433be-0869-4393-b765-9e6faad2a12b (Rennie et al., 2018) Vegetation Baseline: https://doi.org/10.5285/a7b49ac1-24f5-406e-ac8f-3d05fb583e3b (Rennie et al., 2016a) Coarse grain: https://doi.org/10.5285/d349babc-329a-4d6e-9eca-92e630e1be3f (Rennie et al., 2016b) Woodland: https://doi.org/10.5285/94aef007-634e-42db-bc52-9aae86adbd33 (Rennie et al., 2017j) Fine grain: https://doi.org/10.5285/b98efec8-6de0-4e0c-85dc-fe4cdf01f086 (Rennie et al., 2017k) Vertebrates Frogs: https://doi.org/10.5285/4d8c7dd9-8248-46ca-b988-c1fc38e51581 (Rennie et al., 2017l) Birds (Breeding bird survey): https://doi.org/10.5285/5886c3ba-1fa5-49c0-8da8-40e69a10d2b5 (Rennie et al., 2017m) Birds (Common bird census): https://doi.org/10.5285/8582a02c-b28c-45d2-afa1-c1e85fba023d (Rennie et al., 2017n) Bats: https://doi.org/10.5285/2588ee91-6cbd-4888-86fc-81858d1bf085 (Rennie et al., 2017o) Rabbits and deer: https://doi.org/10.5285/0be0aed3-f205-4f1f-a65d-84f8cfd8d50f (Rennie et al., 2017p)

Ideas and perspectives: Strengthening the biogeosciences in environmental research networks

Abstract. Long-term environmental research networks are one approach to advancing local, regional, and global environmental science and education. A remarkable number and wide variety of environmental research networks operate around the world today. These are diverse in funding, infrastructure, motivating questions, scientific strengths, and the sciences that birthed and maintain the networks. Some networks have individual sites that were selected because they had produced invaluable long-term data, while other networks have new sites selected to span ecological gradients. However, all long-term environmental networks share two challenges. Networks must keep pace with scientific advances and interact with both the scientific community and society at large. If networks fall short of successfully addressing these challenges, they risk becoming irrelevant. The objective of this paper is to assert that the biogeosciences offer environmental research networks a number of opportunities to expand scientific impact and public engagement. We explore some of these opportunities with four networks: the International Long-Term Ecological Research Network programs (ILTERs), critical zone observatories (CZOs), Earth and ecological observatory networks (EONs), and the FLUXNET program of eddy flux sites. While these networks were founded and expanded by interdisciplinary scientists, the preponderance of expertise and funding has gravitated activities of ILTERs and EONs toward ecology and biology, CZOs toward the Earth sciences and geology, and FLUXNET toward ecophysiology and micrometeorology. Our point is not to homogenize networks, nor to diminish disciplinary science. Rather, we argue that by more fully incorporating the integration of biology and geology in long-term environmental research networks, scientists can better leverage network assets, keep pace with the ever-changing science of the environment, and engage with larger scientific and public audiences.

Long-term environmental monitoring infrastructures in Europe: observations, measurements, scales, and socio-ecological representativeness

The challenges posed by climate and land use change are increasingly complex, with ever-increasing and accelerating impacts on the global environmental system. The establishment of an internationally harmonized, integrated, and long-term operated environmental monitoring infrastructure is one of the major challenges of modern environmental research. Increased efforts are currently being made in Europe to establish such a harmonized pan-European observation infrastructure, and the European network of Long-Term Ecological Research sites – LTER-Europe – is of particular importance. By evaluating 477 formally accredited LTER-Europe sites, this study gives an overview of the current distribution of these infrastructures and the present condition of long-term environmental research in Europe. We compiled information on long-term biotic and abiotic observations and measurements and examined the representativeness in terms of continental biogeographical and socio-ecological gradients. The results were used to identify gaps in both measurements and coverage of the aforementioned gradients. Furthermore, an overview of the current state of the LTER-Europe observation strategies is given. The latter forms the basis for investigating the comparability of existing LTER-Europe monitoring concepts both in terms of observational design as well as in terms of the scope of the environmental compartments, variables and properties covered.

Estimating sampling and analysis uncertainties to assess the fitness for purpose of a water quality monitoring network

In order to verify that the protocols used for water quality monitoring of surface waters within the Long-term Environmental Research Monitoring and Testing System (OPE), located in the north-eastern part of France in relation with a geological disposal for radioactive waste project, are fit for purpose, a validation study was conducted following the methodology described in the Eurachem/citac and Nordtest guidance documents on uncertainty arising from sampling. As one of the objectives of the OPE water monitoring programme was to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of water quality, quality requirements were set to having a measurement variance, including sampling and analytical contributions, less than 20 % of the total variance to minimise the impact of measurement over the observed environmental variability. The replicate method was then selected in order to estimate the measurement uncertainty, including the sampling contribution, as well as the spatial and temporal variability of water quality of surface waters. To minimise costs, a single-split level was selected. Analytical uncertainties were assessed from inter-laboratory data and/or internal quality control data from the last 2–5 years. Finally, ANOVA was applied to the data sets after elimination of outliers. Results showed that for pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity and nitrate, the sampling uncertainty was negligible, whereas for other parameters such as dissolved oxygen, total suspend solids, total organic carbon, nitrite and phosphate, the sampling contribution to the measurement uncertainty was largely significant. For all parameters except calcium, the sampling and analytical protocols were considered fit for purpose.

How much do sod-based rotations reduce nitrate leaching in a cereal cropping system?

Nitrogen is essential to improving agricultural production systems, explaining why the contamination of groundwater by this nutrient is widespread. The aim of this paper was to describe data collected over 9 years on estimated leaching levels using a simple computation procedure and measurements of soil water content and water balance, nitrate concentrations in drainage water and meteorological data, and to assess the impacts of the duration of the grassland phase and the level of nitrogen fertilization on grassland on the drainage water quality. The study was carried out at a site of the Long-term Environmental Research Observation and Experimentation facility (SOERE) for Environmental Research- Agro-ecosystems, Biogeochemical Cycles and Biodiversity, run by the INRA experimental unit of Lusignan. The experimental treatments were sequences of maize, wheat and barley with different grassland rotational periods (a pure arable crop rotation; three or six years of grassland receiving high-level nitrogen applications; six years of grassland with a low N application rate and long-term grassland with nitrogen application). The study covered the period from April 2005 to June 2013, during which most drainage occurred in the autumn and early winter. Treatments with the longest duration of grassland exhibited less drainage than those containing a higher proportion of arable crops. The average nitrate concentration was 52.7±38.63mgNO3L−1 under a pure crop rotation, compared to 14.9±14.76mgNO3L−1 under a permanent grassland treatment. There were significant differences (P<0.0001) in cumulative nitrogen leaching between the different cropping systems, ranging from 9 to 37kgNha−1year−1. The introduction of mowed grassland sequences into this arable crop rotation caused a marked reduction in the nitrate levels in groundwater, and the greater the proportion of grassland within the rotation the more markedly was the NO3− concentration reduced, whatever the level of N fertilization during the grassland sequence.

C-30: Best practices for archiving marine samples for the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB)

Formal environmental specimen banking has been recognized internationally as an important component of long-term environmental research and monitoring programs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been involved in environmental specimen banking for over 30 years through collaborations primarily with other U.S. government agencies as well as with universities and non-profit organizations. Biological (i.e., marine mammal tissue, seabird egg contents, sea turtle tissue, fish tissue, coral, etc.) and environmental (i.e., marine sediment, macroalgae, etc.) specimen collections from individual projects are maintained at the Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB), Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC. Carefully designed and standardized protocols for sample collection, processing, and banking have been developed primarily to conduct research on environmental contaminant measurements but specimens have been and could be used for additional purposes, such as genetic studies, biotoxin exposure, and infectious disease research. The carefully designed protocols and procedures for collecting these specimens vary depending on a number of factors, such as specimen type, availability of the specimen, and the collection location, but a best practice guideline is to strictly adhere to these protocols in order to ensure the quality of the sample is not compromised for its intended purpose. Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and Control Materials (CMs) intended for use in method development and validation as well as for quality assurance and for use in assigning values for selected environmental contaminants are also produced by NIST and provide a resource to ensure sample stability of specimens archived at the Marine ESB.

Long-Term Environmental Research: The Upper Washita River Experimental Watersheds, Oklahoma, USA

Water is central to life and earth processes, connecting physical, biological, chemical, ecological, and economic forces across the landscape. The vast scope of hydrologic sciences requires research efforts worldwide and across a wide range of disciplines. While hydrologic processes and scientific investigations related to sustainable agricultural systems are based on universal principles, research to understand processes and evaluate management practices is often site-specific to achieve a critical mass of expertise and research infrastructure to address spatially, temporally, and ecologically complex systems. In the face of dynamic climate, market, and policy environments, long-term research is required to understand and predict risks and possible outcomes of alternative scenarios. This special section describes the USDA-ARS's long-term research (1961 to present) in the Upper Washita River basin of Oklahoma. Data papers document datasets in detail (weather, hydrology, physiography, land cover, and sediment and nutrient water quality), and associated research papers present analyses based on those data. This living history of research is presented to engage collaborative scientists across institutions and disciplines to further explore complex, interactive processes and systems. Application of scientific understanding to resolve pressing challenges to agriculture while enhancing resilience of linked land and human systems will require complex research approaches. Research areas that this watershed research program continues to address include: resilience to current and future climate pressures; sources, fate, and transport of contaminants at a watershed scale; linked atmospheric-surface-subsurface hydrologic processes; high spatiotemporal resolution analyses of linked hydrologic processes; and multiple-objective decision making across linked farm to watershed scales.

Andra Environmental Specimen Bank: archiving the environmental chemical quality for long-term monitoring.

Andra Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) was established in 2010 as a part of the Perennial Observatory of the Environment (OPE), ongoing Long-Term Environmental Research Monitoring and Testing System located next to the Underground Research Laboratory (URL) at Bure, Meuse/Haute-Marne, France. The URL is used to study the deep geological disposal of high and intermediate level radioactive waste. Andra ESB is designed to archive during at least 100 years samples collected to define the initial state of environmental quality of the local area before the construction of industrial facilities and to ensure the traceability of long-term series of samples collected by the OPE ( http://www.andra.fr/ope ), using safe long-term conservation practices. Samples archived in the bank include some local food chain products (milk, cheese, honey, cereals, grass, cherry plum…) and specimen usually archived internationally to monitor the environmental quality (soil, sediment, water, fish, tree leaves, wild life, etc.). Regarding the different samples and analytical issues, three conservation modalities and facilities were designed: dry conservation under controlled temperature and humidity, cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen (LN2) vapor phase freezers (-150 °C) and in deep-freezing at -80 °C for temporary storage and raw samples before preparation. Andra ESB is equipped with a sample preparation clean room, certified ISO Class 5, dedicated to cryopreservation. This paper describes this first French experiment of long-term chemical quality monitoring and samples cryopreservation of different ecosystems and environmental compartments.

Combining multivariate statistics and analysis of variance to redesign a water quality monitoring network

The objective of this paper was to demonstrate how multivariate statistics combined with the analysis of variance could support decision-making during the process of redesigning a water quality monitoring network with highly heterogeneous datasets in terms of time and space. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) were selected to optimise the selection of water quality parameters to be monitored as well as the number and location of monitoring stations. Sampling frequency was specifically investigated through the analysis of variance. The data used were obtained between 2007 and 2010 at the Long-term Environmental Research Monitoring and Testing System (OPE) located in the north-eastern part of France in relation with a geological disposal of radioactive waste project. PCA results showed that no substantial reduction among the parameters was possible as strong correlation only exists between electrical conductivity, calcium or bicarbonates. HCA results were geospatially represented for each field campaign and compared to one another in terms of similarities and differences allowing us to group the monitoring stations into 12 categories. This approach enabled us to take into account not only the spatial variability of water quality but also its temporal variability. Finally, the analysis of variances showed that three very different behaviours occurred: parameters with high temporal variability and low spatial variability (e.g. suspended matter), parameters with high spatial variability and average temporal variability (e.g. calcium) and finally parameters with both high temporal and spatial variability (e.g. nitrate).

Big Sky Science

I was disappointed in the article “Big bucks for big sky country” by Andrew Lawler (News Focus, 4 Sept., p. [1437][1]). I am quite proud of Montana and the fine research our institutions are doing. We are succeeding by many measures, and we are undertaking research activities of importance to our state, our region, and, I believe, our nation. I will continue to work to see that our research opportunities in Montana expand. All participants in that endeavor should be congratulated, not criticized. I am also disappointed that the article does not acknowledge that I have been a strong supporter not only of certain special projects but also of scientific research and technology development in general. I have served as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space of the Senate Commerce Committee, worked for National Science Foundation and NASA authorization bills that expand funding for science and research, cosponsored legislation to double fund civilian research, supported development of the Next Generation Internet, and worked on several technology development initiatives. Additionally, I would be more than happy to claim the Long-Term Environmental Research language, but it was not mine. I have a deep respect and appreciation for the contributions of science and technology—for all Americans—and will continue to do my best in support of such initiatives. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.281.5382.1437

CEQ's report on long-term environmental research

CEQ's report on long-term environmental research