ARS | Publication request: Potential GRACEnet linkages with other GHG and soil carbon research and monitoring programs

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: January 6, 2012
Publication Date: June 20, 2012
Citation: Baker, J.M., Follett, R.F. 2012. Potential GRACEnet linkages with other GHG and soil carbon research and monitoring programs. In: Liebig, M., Follett, R., Franzluebbers, A. (Eds.). Managing Agricultural Greenhouse Gases: Coordinated Agrucultural Research through GRACEnet to Address our Changing Climate. Waltham, MA: Academic Press. p. 457-466.

Technical Abstract: Networks can play a key role in greenhouse gas and soil carbon research, for a variety of reasons, including the complexity of the subject, regional variability in the driving factors, and the need for standardization of methods. This has been recognized for some time, and has resulted in the formation of numerous collaborative efforts throughout the world. Data archival and management is often a key focus, primarily driven by the need to provide data for the development and testing of models. A common problem is that it is apparently easier to obtain funding for organizational meetings and network development than for ongoing activities and long-term monitoring, so that a number of initially promising, potentially long-term collaborative efforts are, or soon will be, defunct. This is a critical issue, since in climate change research long-term data are often necessary to discern the signal from the noise.