Large-scale environmental changes pose challenges that straddle environmental, economic, and social boundaries. As we design and implement climate adaptation strategies at the Federal, state, local, and tribal levels, accessible and usable data are essential for implementing actions that are informed by the best available information. Data-intensive science has been heralded as an enabler for scientific breakthroughs powered by advanced computing capabilities and interoperable data systems. Those same capabilities can be applied to data and information systems that facilitate the transformation of data into highly processed products. At the interface of scientifically informed public policy and data intensive science lies the potential for producers of credible, integrated, multi-scalar environmental data like the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and its partners to capitalize on data and informatics interoperability initiatives that enable the integration of environmental data from across credible data sources. NEON is designed to provide high-quality, long-term environmental data for research. These data are also meant to be repurposed for operational needs that like risk management, vulnerability assessments, resource management, and others. The proposed USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) Long Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) network is another example of such an environmental observatory that will produce credible data for environmental / agricultural forecasting and informing policy. To facilitate data fusion across observatories like NEON and LTAR, there is a growing call for observation systems to more closely coordinate and standardize how variables are measured. Together with observation standards, cyberinfrastructure standards enable the proliferation of an ecosystem of applications that utilize diverse, high-quality, credible data. Interoperability facilitates the integration of data from multiple credible sources of data, and enables the repurposing of data for use at different geographical scales. Metadata that captures the transformation of data into value-added products (“provenance”) lends reproducability and transparency to the entire process. This way, the datasets and model code used to create any product can be examined by other parties. This poster outlines a pathway for transforming environmental data into value-added products by various stakeholders to better inform sustainable agriculture using data from environmental observatories including NEON and LTAR.

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Authors: Justin P. Poinsatte , Brian Wee , Jeffrey Taylor
(1) Washington State University; (2) NEON, Inc.; (3) Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder
Agro-ecosystem Data and Information
Challenge
Living systems are experiencing some of the greatest rates of
change caused by multiple changes in the environment, both
human-driven and natural. These changes affect ecosystems, air
quality, water resources, agriculture, and other goods and
services. Natural, managed, and socioeconomic systems are
subjected to complex interacting stresses that play out over
extended periods of time and space (USGCRP 2013, NRC 2007).
Some of the most pressing challenges are highlighted below:
By 2050, agriculture will
need to supply enough
food, feed, fiber, & fuel to
support a global population
of 9 billion people. More
than ¾ of the 70% increase
in global food production
needed by 2050 will have to
come from the ‘sustainable
intensification’ of existing
agricultural lands (FAO
2011).
This will result in new
emergent challenges on
how best manage US food
security
and
safety,
bioenergy,
and
natural
resources at a time of
limited support for public
sector R&D (NRC 2010).
Data for Policy
In April 2013, the Group of Eight (G8)
leaders convened a “Open Data for
Agriculture” summit in Washington, DC.
At the summit, the US Government
unveiled a data community on Data.GOV
to facilitate the discovery, access, and use
of data held by the Federal government
related to food, agriculture, and rural
issues. USDA Secretary Vilsack stated
that “Open access to data will help
combat food insecurity today while laying
the groundwork for a sustainable
agricultural system to feed a population
that is projected to be more than nine
billion by 2050.”
NEON is currently developing and testing an
interoperability framework – a “fabric” that is used to
stitch together partner observatories like the LTAR
so that data and information can be seamlessly
integrated across systems to serve policy and
hence, societal needs. Cyberinfrastructure is an
integral part of this framework.
Airborne
Observatory
Applications
R&D Programs
Research Infrastructure
Spaceborne
Observatory
Cyberinfrastructure enables the transformation of data
into environmental indicators for informed decisionmaking.
Indicators may be thought of as
measurements or calculations that represent important
features of the status, trend, or performance of a
system of interest (e.g. the economy, agriculture, air
quality) (Janetos et al 2013).
Research
Social Observatory
Scientific
Visualization
Education
In order for these data to be used to
inform policy, data must be transformed
into successively value-added products
(“information”) using tools. Most of these
tools are still currently stand-alone, but
are
gradually
transitioning
into
collaborative,
cloud-based,
cyberinfrastructure.
Such
collaborative
environments will facilitate data sharing
and integration.
Forecasting
Terrestrial
Observatory
Experience
Data
Information
Presentation
Organization
Indicator
Development
Public
Engagement
Data Mining
Risk Management
Data Source #2
….
Resource
Management
Decision Support
Data Source n
Vulnerability
Assessments
Integration
Conversation
Interoperability Framework
FAO 2011
Context
(Figure courtesy of Peter Fox, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
USDA LTAR
Environmental Indicators
NEON-LTAR National Configuration
Indicators are designed to
inform us quickly about
something of importance.
Monitoring them over time
can help determine whether
problems are developing and,
if so, which interventions
might effectively alleviate
them
(Orians
G,
oral
presentation , SERDP Conference, Washington DC, 2010).
Research,
Education, and
Economics
In light of the challenges facing agriculture over the next few
decades, USDA and NEON leaders have been exchanging
information on strategies for leveraging existing investments.
Discussions have focused on the establishment of partnerships and
the sharing of techniques, protocols, best practices, and physical
infrastructure.
The US Global Change Research Program’s (USGCRP) third
National Climate Assessment (NCA) will create a system of indicators
to help inform policy-makers and citizens understand key impacts of
the changing climate (USGCRP NCA website). USGCRP agricultural
indicators may include workable field days during growing season,
crop distribution maps, pest distribution maps, disaster and crop
insurance payments (Janetos et al 2013).
In late 2012, the USDA launched its Long-Term Agro-Ecosystem
Research (LTAR) network with an initial configuration of ten sites,
three of which are co-located with NEON. The objectives of the
LTAR are to enable the better understanding of:
How key agricultural system components interact at larger scales
(e.g., watershed; landscape);
Indicators may be derived directly from data or models, or they may
be dimensionless combinations of many disparate observations
(Janetos et al 2013) that ingest data from a complex ecosystem of
credible data sources like NEON and the LTAR. NEON provides a
national baseline for key environmental data that are key for
forecasting plant productivity. Within the national constellation of 60
NEON sites, 11 observe agro-ecosystem processes.
The
complementary LTAR will provide critical data specifically designed to
inform agricultural management.
How to forecast the environmental effects of shifting agricultural
practices;
How to improve the efficacy and information management of
conservation programs;
How to identify the broader societal benefits of modern agriculture
(e.g., bio-energy production; carbon sequestration; improved
water quality & water-use efficiency; wildlife habitat).
Virtual Observatory
Knowledge
Data Source #1
Creation
Gathering
Ocean Observatory
Tundra
Taiga
Hawaii
Puerto Rico
Interoperability between NEON and LTAR is likely to represent a
substantial contribution to the timely and reliable generation of key
agricultural indicators for policy purposes.
© 2013 National Ecological Observatory Network, Inc. All rights reserved. The National Ecological Observatory Network is a project sponsored by the National Science Foundation and managed under cooperative agreement by NEON, Inc. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under the following grants: EF-1029808, EF-1138160, EF-1150319 and DBI-0752017. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.