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Coweeta LTER Data

Long-Term Ecological Research Data from the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory.

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Overview

The Coweeta Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, while no longer funded by NSF as of 2020, has produced over 200 long-term datasets related to climate, hydrology, biogeochemistry, and forest ecology in the Southern Appalachians. This is not a citizen science data collection tool itself, but a valuable data source. Organizations can use this extensive, high-quality environmental data as a baseline or for comparison in their own monitoring and research projects. The data is publicly available through the Environmental Data Initiative repository.

✨ Key Features

  • Access to 80+ years of climate and hydrology data
  • Data on stream chemistry, vegetation, and soil
  • Detailed metadata for each dataset
  • Data from experimentally manipulated and reference watersheds
  • Free and open access to all datasets

🎯 Key Differentiators

  • Focus on a specific, well-studied ecosystem (Southern Appalachian forests)
  • Includes data from long-term watershed-scale experiments
  • Extremely long period of record for many variables

Unique Value: Provides organizations with free access to a rich, multi-decade dataset of high-quality environmental measurements, offering invaluable historical context for understanding ecological change.

🎯 Use Cases (4)

Academic research on forest ecosystems Establishing a historical baseline for new environmental monitoring projects Educational use in ecology and environmental science courses Validating ecological models

✅ Best For

  • Hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific publications on forest ecology and hydrology

💡 Check With Vendor

Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:

  • Active data collection for a new project
  • Managing volunteers or a citizen science campaign

🏆 Alternatives

NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) USGS National Water Information System

Unlike data collection platforms, this is a data source. Compared to other large environmental datasets, Coweeta offers a unique, watershed-scale experimental perspective over an exceptionally long time frame.

💻 Platforms

Web

🛟 Support Options

  • ✓ Email Support

💰 Pricing

Contact for pricing
Free Tier Available

Free tier: All data is free to access and download.

Visit Coweeta LTER Data Website →