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Research Project: Improving Forage Genetics and Management in Integrated Dairy Systems for Enhanced Productivity, Efficiency and Resilience, and Decreased Environmental Impact

Location: Dairy Forage Research

Title: Network of networks: Time-series clustering of Ameriflux sites

Author
item REED, DAVID - Yale University
item CHU, HOUSEN - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
item PETER, BRAD - University Of Arkansas
item CHEN, JIQUAN - Michigan State University
item ABRAHA, MICHAEL - Michigan State University
item AMIRO, BRIAN - University Of Manitoba
item Anderson, Raymond
item ARAIN, M. - McMaster University
item ARRUDA, PAULO - Universidade Federal De Mato Grosso
item BARRON-GAFFORD, GREG - University Of Arizona
item Bernacchi, Carl
item BEVERLY, DANIEL - Indiana University
item BIRAUD, SEBASTIEN - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
item BLACK, ANDREW - University Of British Columbia
item BLANKEN, PETER - University Of Colorado
item BOHRER, GIL - The Ohio State University
item BOWLER, REBECCA - British Colombia Ministry Of Forests And Range
item BOWLING, DAVID - University Of Utah
item BRET-HARTE, MARION - University Of Alaska
item BRETFELD, MARIO - Kennesaw State University
item BRUNSELL, NATHANIEL - University Of Kansas
item BULLOCK, STEPHEN - Centro De Investigacion Cientifica Y De Educacion Superior De Ensenada
item CELIS, GERARDO - University Of Arkansas
item CHEN, XINGYUAN - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item CLASSEN, AIMEE - University Of Michigan
item COOK, DAVID - Argonne National Laboratory
item CUEVA, ALEJANDRO - El Colegio De La Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
item DALMAGRO, HIGO - Universidade De Cuiaba
item DAVIS, KENNETH - Pennsylvania University
item DESAI, ANKUR - University Of Wisconsin
item Duff, Alison
item DUNN, ALISON - Worcester State College
item DURDEN, DAVID - Battelle Memorial Institute
item EDGAR, COLIN - University Of Alaska
item EUSKIRCHEN, EUGENIE - University Of Alaska
item BRACHO, ROSVEL - University Of Florida
item EWERS, BRENT - University Of Wyoming
item FLANAGAN, LAWRENCE - University Of Lethbridge
item FLORIAN, CHRISTOPHER - Battelle Memorial Institute
item FOORD, VANESSA - British Colombia Ministry Of Forests And Range
item FORBRICH, INKE - University Of Toledo
item FORSYTHE, BRANDON - Pennsylvania State University
item FRANK, JOHN - Us Forest Service (FS)
item GARATUZA-PAYAN, JAIME - Virginia Commonwealth University
item Goslee, Sarah
item GOUGH, CHRISTOPHER - Virginia Commonwealth University
item GREEN, MARK - Case Western Reserve University (CWRU)
item GRIFFIS, TIMOTHY - University Of Minnesota
item HELBIG, MANUEL - Dalhousie University
item HILL, ANDREW - Us Forest Service (FS)
item HINKLE, CHARLES - University Of Central Florida
item HORNE, JASON - Pennsylvania State University
item HUMPHREYS, ELYN - Carleton University - Canada
item IKAWA, HIROKI - Institute For Agro Environmental And Forestry Biology (IBAF-CNR)
item IWAHANA, GO - University Of Alaska
item JASSAL, RACHHPAL - University Of British Columbia
item JOHNSON, BRUCE - University Of Saskatchewan
item JOHNSON, MARK - University Of British Columbia
item KANNENBERG, STEVEN - West Virginia University
item KELSEY, ERIC - Plymouth State University
item KING, JOHN - North Carolina State University
item KNOWLES, JOHN - California State University
item KNOX, SARA - University Of British Columbia
item KOBAYASHI, HIDEKI - Japan Agency For Marine-Earth Science And Technology (JAMSTEC)
item KOLB, THOMAS - Northern Arizona University
item KOLKA, RANDY - Us Forest Service (FS)
item KRAUSS, KEN - Us Geological Survey (USGS)
item KUTZBACH, LARS - University Of Hamburg
item LAMB, BRIAN - Washington State University
item LAW, BEVERLY - Oregon State University
item LEE, SUNG-CHING - Max Planck Institute For Biogeochemistry
item LEE, XUHUI - Yale University
item LIU, HEPING - Washington State University
item LOESCHER, HENRY - University Of Colorado
item MALONE, SPARKLE - Yale University
item MATAMALA, ROSER - Argonne National Laboratory
item MAURITZ, MARGUERITE - University Of Texas - El Paso
item METZGER, STEFAN - National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
item MEYER, GESA - Environment And Climate Change Canada
item MITRA, BHASKAR - The James Hutton Institute
item MUNGER, J. - Harvard University
item NESIC, ZORAN - University Of British Columbia
item NOORMETS, ASKO - Texas A&M University
item O'HALLORAN, THOMAS - Clemson University
item O'KEEFFE, PATRICK - Washington State University
item OBERBAUER, STEVEN - Florida International University
item OECHEL, WALTER - San Diego State University
item OIKAWA, PATTY - California State University
item OLIVAS, PAULO - Florida International University
item OUIMETTE, ANDREW - Us Forest Service (FS)
item PASTORELLO, GILBERTO - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
item PEREZ-QUEZADA, JORGE - University Of Chile
item Phillips, Claire
item POSSE, GABRIELA - Instituto Nacional De Tecnologia Agropecuaria
item QU, BO - Universite De Montreal
item Scott, Russell
item Reba, Michele
item Wang, Dong
item Schreiner-Mcgraw, Adam

Submitted to: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/2025
Publication Date: 6/24/2025
Citation: Reed, D., Chu, H., Peter, B., Chen, J., Abraha, M., Amiro, B., Anderson, R.G., Arain, M., Arruda, P., Barron-Gafford, G., Bernacchi, C.J., Beverly, D., Biraud, S., Black, A., Blanken, P., Bohrer, G., Bowler, R., Bowling, D., Bret-Harte, M., Bretfeld, M., Brunsell, N., Bullock, S., Celis, G., Chen, X., Classen, A., Cook, D., Cueva, A., Dalmagro, H., Davis, K., Desai, A., Duff, A., Dunn, A., Durden, D., Edgar, C., Euskirchen, E., Bracho, R., Ewers, B., Flanagan, L., Florian, C., Foord, V., Forbrich, I., Forsythe, B., Frank, J., Garatuza-Payan, J., Goslee, S.C., Gough, C., Green, M., Griffis, T., Helbig, M., Hill, A., Hinkle, C., Horne, J., Humphreys, E., Ikawa, H., Iwahana, G., Jassal, R., Johnson, B., Johnson, M., Kannenberg, S., Kelsey, E., King, J., Knowles, J., Knox, S., Kobayashi, H., Kolb, T., Kolka, R., Krauss, K., Kutzbach, L., Lamb, B., Law, B., Lee, S., Lee, X., Liu, H., Loescher, H., Malone, S., Matamala, R., Mauritz, M., Metzger, S., Meyer, G., Mitra, B., Munger, J., Nesic, Z., Noormets, A., O'Halloran, T., O'Keeffe, P., Oberbauer, S., Oechel, W., Oikawa, P., Olivas, P., Ouimette, A., Pastorello, G., Perez-Quezada, J., Phillips, C.L., Posse, G., Qu, B., Scott, R.L., Reba, M.L., Wang, D., Schreiner-Mcgraw, A.P. 2025. Network of networks: Time-series clustering of Ameriflux sites. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110686.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2025.110686

Interpretive Summary: The impacts of climate change on ecosystems are assessed in part from environmental measurement networks that share data. AmeriFlux is a network of sites that monitor water, carbon, and energy exchange in ecosystems from northern Alaska to South America. The AmeriFlux network is mainly composed of sites that volunteer to share their data in common formats. However, the fact that the network is not designed, but is instead composed of volunteered sites, raises questions about whether research sites are redundant, with some ecosystems over sampled and others missing across the Americas. Here we used data from more than 300 research sites in the AmeriFlux network to cluster the sites into similar groups based on their weather conditions and flux characteristics. By quantifying unique or under-sampled areas within the network, our analysis helps to inform which regions within the network should be better represented with more measurement sites and computer model simulations to better project the effects of climate change on ecosystems. This work should be useful to the scientific community, including program administrators and researchers, who are considering how to share scientific resources equitably, and how to prioritize research targets to evaluate climate change impacts.

Technical Abstract: Environmental observation networks, such as AmeriFlux, are foundational for monitoring Earth’s response to climate change, management, and disturbance, but their representativeness of continental regions is uneven. We use an innovative empirical approach to examine the similarity of existing AmeriFlux sites based on the data’s temporal features. We find that sites cluster along latitudinal gradients in air temperature, net radiation, and vapor pressure deficit; however, net ecosystem exchange, latent heat, and sensible heat fluxes share similar temporal characteristics across most sites in Canada and the US, spanning multiple ecoregions, ecosystem types, and climate zones. Using a multivariate uniqueness parameter, we highlight individual sites or clusters that are distinct distinctive within the network, such as those in Florida, Hawaii, northern Alaska, Central, and South America, and most mountainous areas. Furthermore, our analysis elucidates the regions that are over- or under-sampled and justifies multi-site comparison studies across spatially distant sites.