Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
(
~1
ADDRESSING THE NATION S ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES
COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY NETWORK
BOARD ON Ll F E SC I E NC ES
DIVISION ON EARTH AND LIFE STUDIES
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
OCR for page R2
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fit Sweet, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing
Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of
the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the
Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were
chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under
Grant No. DBI-0332063 (Master Agreement No. 029565~. Any opinions, findings,
conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
International Standard Book Number 0-309-09078-4 (Book)
International Standard Book Number 0-309-05273-8 (PDF)
Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500
Fifth Street, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-
3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet, http://www.nap.edu.
Copyright 2004 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
OCR for page R3
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Stience, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of
distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the
furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the
authority ofthe charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate
that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters.
Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The NationalAcademy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the
National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is
autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the
National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The
National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting
national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements
of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academv of Engineering.
, ~ ~
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to
secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of
policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the
responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be
an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical
care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of
Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in
1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's
purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in
accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the
principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National
Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the
scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both
Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are
chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
www.national-academies.org
OCR for page R4
Committee on the National Ecological Observatory Network
G. DAVID TILMAN (Chair), University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota
JOHN D. ABER, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire
JOY M. BERGELSON, University of Chicago, Illinois
CAROL J. FlALKOWSKI, The Fielct Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois
DOROTHY M. GIBB, Horne Engineering Services, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia
JOHN F. HEIDELBERG, The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, Maryland
GRETCHEN E. HOFMANN, University of California, Santa Barbara, California
PETER J. HUDSON, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
ROBERT J. HUGGETT, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
DENNIS P. LETTENMAlER, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
BORE} S. LOW, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
STEPHEN R. PALUMBI, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California
CAMILLE PARMESAN, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
HERMAN H. SHUGART, JR., University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Staff
EVONNE TANG, Study Director
FRANCES SHARPLES, Director, Board on Life Sciences
BRIDGET AVILA, Senior Project Assistant
LYNN CARLETON, Research Intern
BRENDAN BRADLEY, Research Intern
NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Senior Editor
1V
OCR for page R5
COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL
OBSERVATORY NETWORK
G. DAVID TILMAN (ChairJ, University of Minnesota, St. Paul,
Minnesota
JOHN D. ABER, University of New Hampshire, Durham,
New Hampshire
JOYM. BERGEL`SON, University of Chicago, Illinois
CAROL I. FIALKOWSKI, The Field Museum of Natural History,
Chicago, Illinois
DOROTHYM. GIBB, Horne Engineering Services, Inc., Fairfax,
Virginia
JOHN F. HEIDELBERG, The Institute for Genomic Research,
RockviDe, Maryland
GRETCHEN E. HOFMANN, University of California, Santa
Barbara, California
PETER I. HUDSON, Pennsylvania State University, University Park,
Pennsylvania
ROBERT J. HUGGETT, Michigan State University, East Lansing,
Michigan
DENNIS P. LETTENMAIER, University of Washington, Seattle.
Washington
BOBBI S. LOW, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
STEPHEN R. PALUMBI, Stanford University, Pacific Grove,
California
CAMILLE PARMESAN, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
HERMAN H. SHUGART, JR., University of Virginia, Charlottesville,
Virginia
Staff
EVONNE TANG, Study Director
FRANCES SHARPLES, Director, Board on Life Sciences
BRIDGET AVILA, Senior Project Assistant
LYNN CARLETON, Research Intern
BRENDAN BRADLEY, Research Intern
NORMAN GROSSBLATT, Senior Editor
v
OCR for page R6
BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES
COREYS. GOODMAN, (Chair), Renovis, Inc., South San Francisco,
California
R. ALTA CHARD, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
JOANNE CHORY, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La JoDa,
California
JEFFREY L. DANGE, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hid,
North Carolina
PAUL R. EHRLICH, Stanford University, Stanford, California
DAVID I. GALAS, Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Science,
Claremont, California
BARBARA GASTEL, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
JAMES M. GENTILE, Hope College, Holland, Michigan
LINDA GREER, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, DC
ED HARLOW, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
KENNETH F. KEL`L`ER, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota
GREGORYA. PETSKO, Brandeis University, Waltham,
Massachusetts
STUART L. PIMM, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
JOAN B. ROSE, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
GERALD M. RUBIN, Howard Hughes Biomedical Research, Chevy
Chase, Maryland
BARBARA A. SCHAAL, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
RAYMOND L. WHITE, University of California, San Francisco,
California
Senior Staff
FRANCES SHARPL`ES
Vl
OCR for page R7
Preface
The most complex systems that scientists have ever studied are
biological, and of ad biological systems perhaps none are more
complex than natural and managed communities and eco-
systems. A lake, forest, grassland, or marine habitat is likely to
contain hundreds or even thousands of species of microscopic
and macroscopic plants and animals and thousands of species
of microorganisms, all interacting with each other in a physi-
caDy and chemically complex and changing environment.
During the last 3 decades, the scientific discipline of ecology
has made large strides in understanding the fundamental
processes that structure natural and managed communities and
ecosystems. Those advances have come from the rigorous
interplay of increasingly sophisticated experimentation, Tong-
term observation, and mathematical (and increasingly
mechanistic) theory.
Such scientific advances are coming none too soon; the
last 3 decades have also been a period of accelerating and
.
.
.
unprecedented human impacts on the species and ecosystems
. .
V11
OCR for page R8
Preface
of the globe. Indeed, the consensus among environmental scientists is
that humans have now dominated all natural processes combined as the
major controllers of many of the regional, continental, and global forces
and factors that determine ecological phenomena, from species abun-
dances to the flow of goods and services of economic value to society.
However, because current ecological knowledge is based on studies
of single sites and small subsets of the biodiversity of a site, it is unclear
how applicable current results are to other regions and to other types of
ecosystems. Major and fundamental scientific advances are needed if we
are to have the requisite depth of knowledge for society to deal wisely
with the environment.
Those concerns, which have been raised repeatedly in the discipline
for the last decade, led the National Science Foundation (NSF) to
propose the establishment of a National Ecological Observatory Net-
work, or NEON. Building on the results of six workshops, NSF sum-
marized the goal of NEON this way: "Collectively, the network of
observatories wiD allow comprehensive, continental-scale experiments on
ecological systems and wiD represent a virtual laboratory for research to
obtain a predictive understanding of the environment." At the request of
NSF, the National Research Council established an ad hoc committee to
review and evaluate which major ecological and environmental issues and
national concerns could be addressed only on a regional or continental
scale, whether the current conceptualization of NEON was optimal to
address them, and the impacts that NEON would have on science and
society. Our committee was asked to prepare its report rapidly as a 'fast
track' report. ~ thank the committee members for their incredible
willingness to put aside other important tasks as we spent our summer
reading, holding two-day meetings, and reaching consensus, and then
. . . . . .
writing, discussing, and rewriting our report.
Throughout our deliberations, we kept our eyes on the big picture-
on the major environmental challenges that the nation faces and on the
most efficient and effective ways to obtain the scientific knowledge
required to understand them and to deal with them wisely. We had
neither the time nor the desire nor a charge to deal with ad the assorted
.. .
vial
OCR for page R9
Preface
smaller details that wiD form an important part of NEON. Although we
began with little knowledge of or personal participation in the earlier
planning process for NEON, we grew to have a strong and unanimous
support for the critical role that a NEON-like program could play both
in the development of the discipline of ecology and in contributing to
scientifically based environmental policy for the nation. Our environ-
mental problems are regional to continental to global in scale. It is
essential that our science be so, also.
G. David Tilman
Chair, Committee on the National Ecological Observatory Network
IX
OCR for page R10
Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive comments and suggestions, they
were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of
the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Dr. May Berenbaum of
the University of Illinois, and Dr. Frank Stillinger of Princeton University. Appointed by the
National Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an independent
examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all
review comments were carefully consiclerect. Responsibility for the final content of this report
rests entirely with the author committee and the institution.
x
OCR for page R11
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by persons chosen
for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise in accor-
dance with procedures approved by the National Research
Council's Report Review Committee. The purpose of this
independent review is to provide candid and critical comments
that will assist the institution in making its published report as
sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institu-
tional standards of objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to
the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript
remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative
process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their
review of this report:
Dennis Baldocchi, University of California, Berkeley
Roger C. Bales, University of California, Merced
David Brakke, James Madison University
Joel Brown, University of Illinois, Chicago
Peter Daszak, University of Georgia
Xl
OCR for page R12
Ackr~owledgmer~ts
Michael Freeling, University of California, Berkeley
Inez Y. Fung, University of California, Berkeley
Robert Harriss, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Anthony Janetos, H. John Heinz TIT Center for Science, Economics and
the Environment
Simon A. Levin, Princeton University
Jerry Mahiman, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Thomas C. Malone, University of Maryland
Shahid Nacem, Columbia University
Michael D. Purugganan, North Carolina State University
Although the reviewers listed above have provided constructive
comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclu-
sions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report
before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Dr. May
Berenbaum of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and
Dr. Frank Stillinger of Princeton University. Appointed by the National
Research Council, they were responsible for making certain that an
independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance
with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully
considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests
entirely with the author committee and the institution.
..
xll
OCR for page R13
Confenfs
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
NETWORK
The National Ecological Observatory Network as
Envisioned by the National Science Foundation, 16
Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction
Account, 19
Process and Purpose of This Study, 21
2 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES OF NATIONAL
IMPORTANCE AND THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL
ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY NETWORK
Biodiversity, Species Composition, and Ecosystem
Functioning, 28
Ecological Aspects of Biogeochemical Cycles, 31
Ecological Implications of Climate Change, 34
Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases, 35
1
15
23
...
xlll
OCR for page R14
Contents
Invasive Species, 39
Land Use and Habitat Alteration, 41
Six Large-Scale Environmental Challenges, 43
Environmental Education and Outreach as National Needs, 43
CONCEPT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
NETWORK
Proposed Concept and Implementation of NEON, 47
Examples of NEON Observatories and their Integration, 54
Integration of NEON Observatories, 63
4 EFFECT OF THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL
OBSERVATORY NETWORK ON THE SCIENTIFIC
COMMUNITY, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC
OUTREACH
The Scientific Community, 67
Education, 70
Public Outreach and Involvement, 75
A SYNTHESIS OF EARLY CONCEPTS OF THE
NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
NETWORK AND A NEW VISION
6 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES
A COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL
OBSERVATORY NETWORK BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES
47
67
77
87
93
97
xlv
OCR for page R15
Contents
B NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL WORKSHOP ON
THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
NETWORK AGENDA
C FEDERAL AGENCIES AND PROFESSIONAL
SOCIETIES THAT VOICED THEIR SUPPORT FOR
THE NATIONAL ECOLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
NETWORK THROUGH THE NATIONAL RESEARCH
COUNCIL WORKSHOP AND WEB FORUM
105
107
XV
OCR for page R16
