Resolved: NEON Terrestrial Observation System (OS) Base plot subplot renaming

The subplot naming change within Terrestrial Observation Base plots described in the 6 October 2023 Data Notification has been resolved across all impacted resources. Data in relevant Data Products in the 2024 Data Release and provisional data reflect these changes. Resources to enable the acquisition of spatial data from the application programming interface (API) via the geoNEON package, ArcGIS Online, and shapefiles in the Document Library also reflect the new subplot naming convention.

Change summary: The NEON naming convention for subplots within Base plots, at which several Terrestrial Observation (TOS) protocols are implemented, is being changed to clarify the location of data collection. The new format consists of the identity of the plot point in the southwest corner of the subplot, the scale or size of the subplot, and, for those subplots smaller than 100 m², the corner of the 100 m² subplot in which the smaller subplot is located. For example, ‘21_400’ refers to point 21 in the southwest corner and is 400 m² (20 m x 20 m), and ‘31_1_1’ is a subplot with point 31 in the southwest corner, is 1 m², and is in corner 1 of the 100 m² subplot with point 31 in the southwest corner.

The former naming convention is present in Data Releases prior to RELEASE-2024. We recommend working with the most recent Release whenever possible but refer to past versions of the Data Product User Guides for guidance in working with the former naming convention in past Releases. Past versions of Data Product User Guides can be found here.

Impacted data products:

• Herbaceous clip harvest (DP1.10023.001)
• Litterfall and fine woody debris production and chemistry (DP1.10033.001)
• Plant foliar traits (DP1.10026.001)
• Plant presence and percent cover (DP1.10058.001)
• Root biomass and chemistry, periodic (DP1.10067.001)
• Soil physical and chemical properties, periodic (DP1.10086.001)
• Vegetation structure (DP1.10098.001)