Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #435837
Research Project: Linkages Between Crop Production Management and Sustainability in the Central Mississippi River Basin

Location: Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research

Title: Data typologies that advance the USDA ARS LTAR research ecosystem

Author
item Abendroth, Lori
item Kleinman, Peter
item Armendariz, Gerardo
item BAFFAUT, CLAIRE - Retired ARS Employee
item Bestelmeyer, Brandon
item BOUGHTON, BETSEY - Archbold Biological Station
item Browning, Dawn
item Carlson, Bryan
item Coffin, Alisa
item Cole, Kevin
item Cosh, Michael
item Heilman, Philip
item Hoover, David
item Kaplan, Nicole
item MILLHOUSER, PAUL - Former ARS Employee
item Moriasi, Daniel
item White, William

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/27/2026
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The USDA ARS Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network spans more than 19 sites and types of working lands across the conterminous U.S. A major effort of this Network has been to stand up the research ecosystem which includes the physical field and ranch experiments but also the centralized data infrastructure. To do the latter, a cohort of biophysical, data, and social scientists developed a data typology that visualizes the pathways for five types of data based on their method of origination, type of ownership, approach to quality control, sensitivity and privacy concerns, and means of publication. This typology has been instrumental to describe, communicate, and structure the data entry platform. The typology has proven robust and functional across disciplinary silos, differing experimental constructs, and diverse data types. The typology includes pathways specific to Type 1 (LTAR-Managed and for the Common Experiment), Type 2 (Third Party Observatory Networks), Type 3 (Internal Open Observatory Networks), Type 4 (Unique Site Data and File Types), and Type 5 (Network-wide Data Managed by Working Groups). This research benefits other scientists and farmers by clearly articulating data available from the LTAR Network for use and development of real-world recommendations for greater productivity, efficiency, and economic outcomes.