Ordway-Swisher Biological Station NEON - United States of America

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Basic Information
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Site Name
Ordway-Swisher Biological Station NEON
Short name
OSBS
Country
United States of America
Web Address
http://neonscience.org/field-sites/osbs
Site Manager
Guy Fausnaught
Site Description
Ordway-Swisher Biological Station (OSBS) is a terrestrial NEON field site located in Putman County, Florida about 20 miles east of Gainesville. It is located within the Ordway Swisher Biological Station (OSBS), a 38.5 km2 (9500 acre) property owned and managed by the University of Florida as a biological research center. The OSBS site is managed to maintain intact longleaf pine ecosystem, one of the historically dominant forest types in the region. It is encompassed within the NEON Southeast Domain that is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The Domain features a patchwork of forest, grassland, and wetland communities embedded in a matrix that is increasingly dominated by a fast-growing human population. The Domain hosts five other NEON field sites, including three aquatic and two additional terrestrial sites, located in Florida and Georgia. OSBS is colocated with two aquatic field sites, Barco Lake (BARC) and Suggs Lake (SUGG).
Relationships to other sites
This site contains:
Last modified
2025-09-18 14:02:45

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
2014
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
GERI✔This site is a verified "GERI" member.
NEON✔ (OSBS)This site is a verified "NEON" member.
Photos
Technicians on the tower
Technicians on the tower
Geographic
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 29.68927 Longitude: -81.99343

Size
ca. 3850.00ha
Elevation (average)
46.00msl
Elevation (min)
22.00msl
Elevation (max)
49.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml] [.geojson]
GEO-BON Biome
Terrestrial
Biome
Evergreen Forest
Ecosystem Type
Forest
Evergreen Forest
Air Temperature: Average Annual
20.90°C
Precipitation Annual
1302.00mm
Geology
The Ordway Preserve is located in the Northern Highlands portion of Putnam County, where it sits atop roughly 4000 feet of limestone, dolomite, and anhydrite formations. The Miocene-aged Hawthorn Group is overlain by the Cypresshead Formation, which was laid down during the Pliocene and consists of sand, mud, and clay. Above the Cypresshead Formation, belonging to the recent age, are the quartz sands recognizable as the soil of Ordway. They have many karst features and are often described as belonging to the Anastasia Formation.
Vegetation
Ordway-Swisher is dominated by pine and turkey oak (Quercus laevis) vegetation with a grass and forb groundcover. Pines are primarily Longleaf Pines (Pinus palustris Mill.) and Lobolly (P. taeda), and the dominant perennial grass is wiregrass (Aristida stricta Michx.). Numerous species of other perennial grasses and forbs are also present.
Soils
The NEON-commissioned soil megapit revealed Entisol-order soils that are uncoated, Typic Quartzipsamments. Soils at OSBS are primarily well-drained and sandy, but low-lying areas near lakes and swamps can have relatively deep layers of organic soils.
Hydrology
The Ordway Preserve is dotted with numerous sinkhole lakes. Some lakes fill via overland flow and surface water, while others are connected to ground water. The result is many highly diverse dark water lakes, contrasted with the less diverse clear groundwater lakes. The site experiences significant rainfall during the rainy season, contributing greatly to the water level of the clear water sites. The dark water lakes have a connected flow from the southwest corner of the site to the northeast. Much of the water ends up in the Mill Creek Swamp and Ashley and Harry Prairies.
Site Type
Platform
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
beyond catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
beyond catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Accessible All Year
Yes
Permanent Operation
Yes