National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
Introduction to NEON
National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a large facility project managed by NEON, Inc. and funded by the
National Science Foundation. NEON, Inc. itself is not a funding agency. NEON, Inc. is an independent 501(c)(3)
corporation created to manage large-scale ecological observing systems and experiments on behalf of the scientific
community. NEON’s goal is to contribute to global understanding and decisions in a changing environment using
scientific information about continental-scale ecology obtained through integrated observations and experiments.
NEON has partitioned the U.S. into 20 ecoclimatic domains, each of which represents different regions of vegetation,
landforms, climate, and ecosystem performance. Data will be collected from strategically selected sites within each
domain and synthesized into information products that can be used to describe changes in the nation’s ecosystem
through space and time.
In 2011, The University of Florida signed a 30 year land use agreement with the National Ecological Observatory
Network (NEON) to utilize the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station as the Southeastern domain core site for NEON's
ecological observation network.
NEON Data
The data NEON collects and provides will focus on how land use, climate change and invasive species affect biodiversity,
disease ecology, and ecosystem services. Obtaining integrated data on these relationships over a long-term period is
crucial to improving forecast models and resource management for environmental change.
These data and information products will be readily available to scientists, educators, students, decision makers, and
the public. This will allow a wide audience, including members of underserved communities, to use NEON tools to understand
and address ecological questions and issues. The NEON infrastructure is a means of enabling transformational science and
promoting broad ecological literacy.
Click here to browse Ordway-Swisher data at NEON
For more information regarding NEON and its resources, please visit their
website at www.neoninc.org.
NEON Contact for Domain 3:
Robert Nelson
Field Operations Manager-Southeast
National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, Inc.)
4579 N.W. 6th Street, Unit B-2
Gainesville, FL. 32609
Phone – 352-505-2001