Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute NEON - United States of America

The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) is a core terrestrial site and part of NEON's Mid-Atlantic Domain 2 sites. SCBI facilitates and promotes research programs based in Front Royal, Virginia, the National Zoo in Washington, DC, and at field-research and training sites around the world. The flux/meteorological tower at this site is 171 ft with 6 measurement levels. The tower top extends above the vegetation canopy to allow sensors mounted at the top and along the tower to capture the full profile of atmospheric conditions from the top of the vegetation canopy to the ground. The tower collects physical and chemical properties of atmosphere-related processes, such as humidity, wind, and net ecosystem gas exchange. Precipitation data are collected by a tipping bucket at the top of the tower, a Double Fence Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) near the tower, and a series of throughfalls located in the soil array. Remote sensing surveys of this field site collect lidar, spectrometer and high-resolution RGB camera data. This site has five soil plots placed in an array within the airshed of the flux tower.There are also multiple plots for soil sensors and sampling and organismal sampling including birds, ticks, mammals, ground beetles, soil microbes, and mosquitoes. Total data products planned for this site: 118