Smithsonian Environmental Research Center NEON - United States of America

Basic Information
Site Name
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center NEON
Short name
SERC
Country
United States of America
Web Address
https://www.neonscience.org/field-sites/serc
Site Manager
Ty Lindberg
Site Description
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is a terrestrial NEON field site located in Anne Arundel county, Maryland on the Rhode River, a sub-estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. The 10.7 km2 (2650 acre) site is encompassed within and hosted by The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, a research and educational center run by the Smithsonian Institution. This site is located within NEON's Mid-Atlantic Domain (D02), a densely populated region bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and stretching down the Eastern Seaboard from southern New Jersey to northern Georgia. The Mid-Atlantic Domain includes two other terrestrial sites and two aquatic sites.
Last modified
2025-09-18 16:09:19

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2015
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
NEON✔ (SERC)This site is a verified "NEON" member.
Photos
SERC landscape
SERC landscape
Field ecologists in a soybean field
Field ecologists in a soybean field
Geographic
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 38.89008 Longitude: -76.56001

Size
ca. 1070.00ha
Elevation (average)
33.00msl
Elevation (min)
0.00msl
Elevation (max)
43.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
GEO-BON Biome
Terrestrial
Biome
Deciduous Forest
Ecosystem Type
Forest
Deciduous Forest
Air Temperature: Average Annual
13.70°C
Precipitation Annual
1075.00mm
Geology
The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is located on the Nanjemoy Formation, consisting of sand, clay, and mud. The parent material at SERC is primarily fluvial marine deposits associated with a near-shore environment of the late Cretaceous seas, but there are some areas of alluvium and loess that overlie some of the fluvial marine deposits. Glauconite is a common mineral found at the site.
Vegetation
The SERC site’s land is dominated by coastal hardwood forests, encompassing varying habitat types including terrestrial, estuarine, and wetland habitats. Dominant vegetation within the hardwood forests include tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). Cropland also covers a large portion of the landscape.
Soils
The major soil series found at SERC include Adelphia, Dodon, Cumberstone, Sassafras, Mattapex, Donlonton, Collington, Holmdel, Annapolis, Wist, Sharptown, Marr, Woodstown, and Hurlock. The parent material at SERC is primarily fluvial marine deposits with some areas of overlying alluvium and loess. Landforms at SERC include backslopes, footslopes, shoulders, summits, and toeslopes, which are consistent with uplands and hills.
Hydrology
Anne Arundel County, Maryland is partially included in the larger Patuxent watershed which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The other part of the county belongs to smaller watersheds that drain directly into the Chesapeake Bay. These watersheds are the South River, Rhode, and West River watersheds.
Site Type
Non-stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
beyond catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
beyond catchment
Permanent Power Supply
No
Accessible All Year
Yes
Permanent Operation
No