The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program is, in a sense, an experiment to transform the nature of science, and represents one of the most effective mechanisms for catalyzing comprehensive site-based research that is collaborative, multidisciplinary, and long-term in nature. The scientific contributions of the Program are prodigious, but the broader impacts of participation have not been examined in a formal way. This book captures the consequences of participation in the Program on the perspectives, attitudes, and practices of environmental scientists. The edited volume comprises three sections. The first section includes two chapters that provide an overview of the history, goals, mission, and inner workings of the LTER network of sites. The second section comprises three dozen retrospective essays by scientists, data managers or educators who represent a broad spectrum of LTER sites from deserts to tropical forests and from arctic to marine ecosystems. Each essay addresses the same series of probing questions to uncover the extent to which participation has affected the ways that scientists conduct research, educate students, or provide outreach to the public. The final section encompasses 5 chapters, whose authors are biophysical scientists, historians, behavioral scientists, or social scientists. This section analyzes, integrates, or synthesizes the content of the previous chapters from multiple perspectives and uncovers emergent themes and future directions.

"This edited volume provides insiders' views of ways that that long-term collaborative ecological research has shaped science and scientists in the U.S. Long-Term Ecological Research network. The book is a testament to the value of personal and institutional commitments to science that is much broader than the contributions of any single scientist."--F. Stuart Chapin, Professor Emeritus of Ecology, Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks "This book is a wonderful collection of individual vignettes on how this extraordinarily successful research program has personally and professionally impacted participating scientists! It is interesting and offers profound testimony to the importance of long-term, collaborative, ecosystem-based science."--Jerry F. Franklin, Professor of Ecosystem Analysis, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington

Mike Willig directs the Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering and is a Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut. He has been an active member of the Luquillo Mountains LTER site since its inception over 25 years ago. Professor Walker is an ecologist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas who studies plant succession and the disturbances, both natural and human-caused, that trigger it in many ecosystems around the world.