LTER NETWORK
The KBS LTER is part of the LTER Network, founded in 1980 by the National Science Foundation with the recognition that long-term research could help unravel the principles and processes of ecological science, which frequently involves long-lived species, legacy influences, and rare events. We are one of 27 sites working together to broaden our understanding of the nation’s ecological services.
The geographic distribution of sites ranges from Alaska to Antarctica and from the Caribbean to French Polynesia and includes agricultural lands, alpine tundra, barrier islands, coastal lagoons, cold and hot deserts, coral reefs, estuaries, forests, freshwater wetlands, grasslands, kelp forests, lakes, open ocean, savannas, streams, and urban landscapes.
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Each Site Develops Individual Research Programs in Five Core Areas
- Pattern and control of primary production;
- Spatial and temporal distribution of populations selected to represent trophic structure;
- Pattern and control of organic matter accumulation in surface layers and sediments;
- Patterns of inorganic inputs and movements of nutrients through soils, groundwater and surface waters; and
- Patterns and frequency of site disturbances.
