Sensor Web for Ecological Explorations in Terrestrial Systems (SWEETS)

A collaboration between the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Sevilleta LTER, and the LTER Network Office

Advances in science often begin with the development and use of new technologies and instrumentation. The integration of current 'off-the-shelf' technologies including microcomputers, microsensors, low-power radio chips, and the Internet allow the development of a new class of instrumentation that can scale across space and time, introducing a new paradigm to how we instrument, and even think about, the environment.

The Sensor Web for Ecological Explorations in Terrestrial Systems (SWEETS) project is a collaboration between the Sevilleta LTER Research Field Station, the LTER Network Office, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in which we pioneer the use of a new in situ scalable sensor network called a Sensor Web in ecological research to measure canopy microclimate effects of three aridland plant species (Juniperus monosperma - one-seeded juniper, Larrea tridentata - creosote bush, and Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana - honey mesquite).

Project Goals:

The SWEETS project has several goals:

1) Determine the feasibility of using NASA/JPL's Sensor Web in ecological drylands research. Deployment of wireless technology can be particularly challenging at the Sevilleta, because of the engineering constraints imposed by this aridland environment.

2) Review NASA/JPL's Sensor Web in terms of its use and applications in field ecology and environmental research.

3) SWEETS will generate valuable realtime micrcoclimate data that will advance our understanding of species interactions in desert ecosystems. Project results will be published in peer-reviewed research journals.

Specific Research Questions:

1) How do different desert shrub species (Juniperus monosperma, Larrea tridentata, and Prosopis glandulosa) alter the microclimate beneath their canopies, and how does this affect compositional variation in plant communities?

2) Does Larrea tridentata produce a greenhouse effect within its canopy keeping canopy temperatures warmer during the winter months?

3) What are the effects of precipitation events on microclimates, particularly soil and air temperatures and light, in areas with and without vegetation cover over sub-hourly time intervals?

4) How do Sensor Web measurements compare to traditional meteorological instrument measurements?

Study Design:

The study site is located at the Sevilleta LTER site in central New Mexico (34° 21´ 10.8" N latitude; 106° 52´ 55.2" W longitude). In this study the canopy of three individuals of three species of aridland plant species scattered along a 300-meter transect have been instrumented with Sensor Web pods. Three control pods were mounted in the open (between plant species), for comparison with data from the adjacent Sevilleta LTER meteorological station. Each pod is equipped with two soil temperature sensors, one soil moisture sensor, one air temperature sensor, one light flux sensor measuring photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and one relative humidity sensor. View the arial SWEETS Site Map.

SWEETS Team:

Gregory Bonito - gmb2@duke.edu
Graduate Student - Duke University
Contributions: Sensor Web installation, data management, data analysis, follow-up report(s)

Renee Brown - rfbrown@sevilleta.unm.edu
Sevilleta LTER System Administrator
Contributions: SWEETS system administrator, sensor installation

Scott Collins - scollins@sevilleta.unm.edu
PI Sevilleta LTER
Contributions: Project supervisor (Sevilleta), research design, project support

Bill Michener - wmichene@lternet.edu
Senior Research Scientist LTER Network Office
Contributions: data management, project support

Doug Moore - dmoore@sevilleta.unm.edu
Sevilleta LTER Meteorological Network Manager
Contributions: technical support, data quality control/quality assurance

John Vande Castle - jvc@lternet.edu
Associate Director for Technology Development LTER Network Office
Contributions: technical support

Kevin Delin - kevin.delin@jpl.nasa.gov
Sensor Webs Project Leader NASA JPL
Contributions: Co-PI (JPL), technology engineer, project support