Knute J. Nadelhoffer University of Michigan Biological Station 1029 Kraus Natural Science Building 850 N. University Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048 knute@umich.edu
The University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) is situated in the heart of the dominant climate, edaphic, and vegetation province within NEON Domain 5. It is a true wildland core site, with access to ~10,000 acres undisturbed for over 100 years and owned by the University. UMBS is also strategically located to serve as a “sentinel” observatory for investigating changes in forest cover and ecosystems now in progress, where future climate changes will have great impacts in transitioning between ecological communities.
UMBS has been in operation since 1909, and supports extremely long-term and complete data sets on flora and fauna. It has a rich history of regional research, as well as undergraduate and graduate training at the national and international level.
The station has a well-developed infrastructure, including grid power supporting science labs, housing for 300 people, library, conference center, and easy access to interstate highways and airports. It is maintained by strong and reliable financial, operational, and administrative support from the University of Michigan.
Because of the above attributes, UMBS is consistently a hotbed of research activity and hosts national program sites (AmeriFlux; NADP; REU; IGERT) and many other research projects already studying NEON themes of climate change, land use, and invasive species. The station’s research programs provide complete coverage of ecosystems from terrestrial to aquatic to atmospheric (e.g., PROPHET), and maintains links with both state and federal science and resource agencies.
The site can easily accommodate future NEON experiments or expansions as related to research questions in the NEON ISEP and questions in the continental RFI responses (3CS). In turn, NEON deployment at the site will enhance the broad diversity of ongoing research, especially through increased cyberinfrastructure and new technologies.
UMBS is a center for teaching and training that serves the entire US, first as a field station with an NSF-REU site program coupled to educational programs through the U. Michigan taught by professors from many institutions, and second as a training site for graduate students through an IGERT project and associated NSF research grants.
The station holds a long-history of scientific outreach to local landowners, area residents, local municipalities, and state managers and policy makers. This outreach assumes many forms (town meetings, continuing education courses, natural history field trips, etc.), including synthesis conferences at the national and international level. This multi-scale, integrated outreach program at UMBS could serve as a model for the NEON ISEP in accomplishing their goals.
State the name(s) of the NEON domain represented. Domain 5 (Great Lakes)
State the geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) and size (acres). University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS): 45° 33’ N, 84° 40’ W (45.561, -84.676). Approx 10,000 acres (4,050 hectares). Public lands in surrounding region >1,400,000 acres.