NEON Spotlight: The Best of 2024
January 6, 2025
Since 2016, Battelle has had the privilege of managing and operating the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) for the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). NEON is a U.S.-wide network of 81 field sites designed to collect measurements and samples over a three-decade lifetime, giving the global scientific community access to rich, continental-scale datasets that are driving ecological research. The network allows for robust documentation and analysis of ecological trends that inform our understanding of Earth’s ecosystems, charting a path for a future of responsible resource and land management.
2024 was yet another impressive year for NEON in terms of both the breadth and scale of research that it has enabled. As we turn the calendar to 2025, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting research and news involving the NEON program last year.
NEON Sites and Data Help Determine Factors of Soil Organic Carbon Content
In this study, researchers used NEON soil data to estimate Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) change and its effects over 30 years. Scientists modeled SOC concentrations in topsoil and subsoil across NEON sites, taking into account soil type and potential land-use changes. Their results suggest that runoff and erosion, leaching potential, and mineral sorption are dominant factors that impact SOC across NEON soil plots. They also found that over 30 years, SOC does not change significantly when converting the observed natural vegetation to disturbed natural vegetation, though soil type also affects the results.
Originally published in the February 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
NEON Used to Examine N2O Undersaturation in Streams, Rivers, and Lakes
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse gas that contributes to ozone depletion as it accumulates in Earth’s atmosphere. A paper in Geophysical Research Letters examines how inland waters such as streams, rivers, and lakes can serve as sinks for N2O and potentially offset emissions. Dr. Kelly Aho and her team monitored N2O undersaturation – when dissolved N2O concentrations are less than the atmospheric equilibrium N2O – in inland water sources via data from NEON sites. The results suggest that undersaturation is prevalent and widespread, occurring when rates of nitrogen transformation are low. Aho’s team posits the theory that this trend could be due to the lack of human activity in those areas.
Originally published in the March 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory to Use NEON AOP in Newly Funded Project
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) was awarded about $1 million in funding by the U.S. Congress in a spending bill, allocated to support water and forest health in the Colorado River Basin. With this funding, RMBL will use NEON in their project to help scientists link vegetation and forest health to hydrology and fire impacts. Scientists say that access to field data and powerful technologies – including imagery technology from NEON that allows for precise measurement of vegetation – will be a “game-changer” for understanding how ecosystems in Colorado will respond to drought and climate change.
Originally published in the April 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
University of Alabama Partners with NEON to Empower the Next Generation of Ecologists
A University of Alabama team led by Dr. Carla Atkinson was awarded about $3 million in funding for the Woods to Water (W2W) project, which helps early career scientists comprehend important linkages between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The W2W program leverages training with NEON to help them tackle pressing ecosystem issues. The training takes place in the Ozarks, where there are three pairs of terrestrial and aquatic NEON field sites, and in the Southeast at two NEON sites. Both areas have a longleaf pine ecosystem. The project’s lead investigator Dr. Christina Staudhammer stated, “Partnering with NEON and a private research foundation, we are giving opportunities for participants to gain experience in a wide range of field techniques and scientific management.”
Originally published in the May 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
Satellite Data Informs Plant Functional Traits Across High Dimensions
Professor Jin Wu and a research team from the University of Hong Kong used a novel combination of satellite technology and data from NEON sites in the eastern U.S. to map plant functional traits and diversity. Plant traits provide key insights into how ecosystems respond to environmental stressors (e.g., carbon sequestration, air temperature, hydrological regulation). Wu’s team leveraged NEON data (which provide detailed insights) in combination with satellite imagery (which enables data analysis across vast areas) to help scientists better understand ecosystem diversity and function.
Originally published in the June 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
Nonnative Mosquito Species Increases in Florida
Nonnative mosquitoes have been detected to be increasing in Collier County, Florida. Detecting nonnative species early provides an opportunity for quick intervention and for possibly slowing or preventing the spread of the species into new areas. NEON mosquito samples were used to show that the nonnative species Culex tarsalis, which is common in the western U.S. and southern Canada, was found in Collier County. Cx. tarsalis is known to carry a variety of human diseases, one being West Nile virus which is endemic in South Florida. The introduction of new diseases to the area by the species would be challenging, as the county would need to learn how to control it. Being able to monitor nonnative species and where they are established will allow researchers, mosquito control agencies, and public health professionals to better prepare for future disease threats.
Originally published in the July & August 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
NEON Used to Update Mosquito Species List in Arizona
Researchers reported an updated list of mosquito species in Arizona to date. With the most recent comprehensive list published 50 years ago, researchers found it crucial to provide an overview of identified species; collection years, methods, areas and locations; feeding preferences; and diseases they carry or transmit. Samples from the NEON Biorepository at Arizona State University were used to show mosquito diversity in the state, enhancing our understanding of mosquito biodiversity. This will also establish development of more effective mosquito surveillance and control strategies. The researchers also state that social scientists can play an important role in mosquito-borne disease prevention efforts by providing insights into the link between mosquito-borne diseases and socioeconomic status in order to identify locations or specific populations that are more at risk to these diseases.
Originally published in the July & August 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
A Lunar Biorepository Built Upon NEON Collections
Earth’s biodiversity is in peril even with the most optimistic models of global change. Scientists have turned their attention to Earth’s closest celestial body, the Moon (namely its cold poles), to explore the creation of a lunar biorepository using cryopreservation to store samples of animals, plants, and microbes with little human interaction. This project would also provide scientists with an understanding of how cells behave in space. The NEON Biorepository will be used to start collections and generate fibroblast cells. Once kicked off, this project will span decades and call for collaboration between nations, agencies, public and private stakeholders, scientific partners, and more to help protect Earth’s biodiversity on the surface of the Moon, while potentially expanding the realm of the livable universe.
Originally published in the September 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
NEON Used to Explore Connections Between Ticks and Pathogens
Taking advantage of the national-scale tick collections and pathogen testing conducted at NEON, researchers found that two tick species that transmit pathogens to humans have expanded both geographically and in numbers in recent years. They sampled the two species – Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum – and their associated bacterial pathogens to test how the species are impacted by environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, etc. The results suggest that pathogens may not always be affected by the same conditions as their tick host. The researchers also note that the types of analyses performed in the study can be important in public health mitigation efforts to help understand why a pathogen may be prevalent in some areas, but not in others, independent of host prevalence.
Originally published in the November 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
NEON Utilized in Student Summer Research Project to Assess Biodiversity
This summer, Subash Sapkota, a biology major in the Honors Program at the University of Louisiana Monroe, led an independent study to evaluate biodiversity in a forest in Michigan. At the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center forest plot, he engaged in fieldwork and got hands-on experience using remote sensing technology. Sapkota and his team used hyperspectral data from NEON’s Airborne Observation Platform so he could further understand the forest’s biodiversity, while also measuring the effectiveness of remote sensing data methods. He found that the data and biodiversity measures had a positive relationship, and that remote sensing data have potential when it comes to more efficient biodiversity monitoring.
Originally published in the November 2024 edition of the NEON Spotlight
Sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by Battelle, NEON is a continental-scale ecological observatory network dedicated to providing high-quality, consistently generated, standardized data that are free and available to all users. By enabling scientists, researchers, and students to address critical questions and understand ecosystem changes over time, the NEON program allows the ecological community to tackle questions and problems at a scale that was not possible before.
