The Challenges of Long Term Ecological Research: A Historical Analysis

List of Abbreviations

1          Introduction

            Sharon E. Kingsland and Robert B. Waide

Part I. Background and General Overview of the LTER program

 2          The Origins, Early Aspects, and Development of the Long Term Ecological Research Program

            Sharon E. Kingsland, Jerry F. Franklin, and Robert B. Waide

3          Long-term Dynamics of the LTER Program: Evolving Definitions and Composition

4          Sustaining Long-term Ecological Research: Perspectives from Inside the LTER Program

Merryl Alber, John Blair, Charles Driscoll, Hugh Ducklow, Timothy Fahey, William R. Fraser, John E. Hobbie, David M. Karl, Sharon E. Kingsland, Alan Knapp, Edward Rastetter, Timothy Seastedt, Gaius Shaver, and Robert B. Waide

Part II. An In-depth Perspective on Selected Sites: History, Foundations, and Partnerships

5          The Luquillo Experimental Forest: A Neotropical Example of the Interaction between Forest Conservation and Long-term Ecological Research

            Ariel E. Lugo

6          Ecological Theory and Practice in Two Arid and Semi-arid Ecosystems: A Tale of Two LTER Sites

            Debra P.C. Peters

7          Cold War Origins of Long-term Ecological Research in Alaska

            Sharon E. Kingsland

Part III. Experiments in Broadening the Social Significance of LTER

8          How LTER Site Communities Can Address Major Environmental Challenges

Frederick J. Swanson, David R. Foster, Charles T. Driscoll, Jonathan R. Thompson, and Lindsey E. Rustad   

9          Seeing the Invisible Present and Place: From Years to Centuries with Lake Ice from Wisconsin to the Northern Hemisphere

            John J. Magnuson

10        Evolution of Social-Ecological Research in the LTER Network and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

            J. Morgan Grove and Steward T.A. Pickett

11        Integration of the Arts and Humanities with Environmental Science in the LTER Network

Part IV. The Importance of Community in the Evolution of a Research Network

12        History of Comparative Research and Synthesis in the LTER Network

            John J. Magnuson and Robert B. Waide

            Susan G. Stafford

14        Network Level Science, Social-Ecological Research, and the LTER Planning Process

            Scott L. Collins

15        Evolving Governance in the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network

            Ann Zimmerman and Peter M. Groffman

16        Understanding the Fundamental Principles of Ecosystems through a Global Network of Long-term Ecological Research Sites 

            Robert B. Waide and Kristin Vanderbilt

Index