Documents — Historical Documents

NSF Solicitation (2016) for new LTER sites. 

This solicitation formalizes the basic requirements and expectations of all Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) proposals.

At the current time, the LTER program is accepting only renewal proposals from existing projects.

Should funds become available to support new sites, a Dear Colleague Letter or a revised solicitation will be released specifying the criteria for an open competition.

LTER 2011 renewal proposal guidelines letter to PIs

LTER Program Request for Proposals 1981

LTER Program Request for Proposals 1980

Instructions for the LTER renewal proposals that are due at NSF on 1 February 2006 via Fastlane.

These instructions are the same as those used for the renewal competition in 2002 and 2004 and your 2003 mid-term site review.

An outline of the major milestones ocuring in the 20+ year history of the LTER Network, from the 1970s to present.

1. Core Research Questions – Initially, at least, only a modest number of research questions can be asked in a uniform and coordinated fashion at a majority of participating sites. The following are five areas of core research suggested for a majority of the sites, whether they are focused on terrestrial or aquatic systems.

Summarizes and compares information between sites, such as number of Pis, average dollar amount per PI, and number of graduate students at each site.

The Vision statement for Microbial Ecology in LTER

For more information on the early development of the Network, see the following publications:

Long-term Ecological Research Concept Statement and Measurement Needs Summary of a Workshop at the Institute of Ecology, Indianapolis, Indiana, June 25-27, 1979. Prepared for: National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological, Behavioral and Social Sciences Division of Environmental Biology, Biological Research Resources Program

This report describes a pilot project for long-term observation and study of ecological systems in the United States. It includes a plan for the organization, development, and administration of the project, as well as a proposed system for the selection, storage, and retrieval of observational data.

A group of scientists representing many areas of ecology met March 16-18, 1977 to discuss fundamental issues concerning long-term ecological measurements. The report of this conference is divided into two parts: (1) a summary statement from the entire co nference; and (2) specific recommendations regarding terrestrial freshwater and marine ecosystems, prepared by different sections of the conference.