Fact Sheet
Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)
April 21, 2015
This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.
NSF's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program is a network of long-term research projects aimed at understanding ecological processes in a wide range of ecosystems. LTER supports fundamental ecological research that requires data collection over long time periods and often at large spatial scales. NSF established the LTER program in 1980.
The two dozen field sites focus on: 1) understanding ecological phenomena that occur over long temporal and broad spatial scales; 2) creating a legacy of well-designed, long-term ecological experiments; 3) conducting major syntheses and theoretical efforts; and 4) providing information to identify and to address environmental problems.
LTER projects represent a diversity of habitats in continental North America, the Caribbean, Pacific Ocean, and the Antarctic, including coral reefs, arid grasslands, estuaries, lakes, prairies, forests, alpine and Arctic tundra, urban areas, and agroecosystems. Funding for LTER is provided by the Biological Sciences, Geosciences, and Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences directorates.
-NSF-
Related Websites
LTER Network: http://www.lternet.edu/
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