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Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Description 
The general mission of the LTER Network is: understand ecological phenomena which occur over long temporal and broad spatial scales; create a legacy of well-designed and documented ecological experiments; conduct major syntheses and theoretical efforts; and provide information necessary for the identification and solution of environmental problems. The conceptual frameworks of the existing LTER sites are broadly focused around five core areas: pattern and control of primary production, spatial and temporal distribution of populations selected to represent trophic structure, pattern and control of organic matter accumulation in surface soils and sediments, patterns of inorganic inputs and movements of nutrients through soils, and waters, and patterns, frequency, and effects of disturbance to the research site.
These core areas are broadly defined and must be incorporated into the research to be conducted in land/ocean-margin ecosystems. In addition to the traditional LTER core areas, research at land/ocean-margin LTER sites will: increase the understanding of the organization and function of land/ocean-margin ecosystems; investigate the linkages between these systems and adjacent terrestrial and marine systems; and increase the understanding of major natural and anthropogenic environmental perturbations in these regions. Target Dates and Deadlines January 13, 2004
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Division of Ocean Sciences,
NSF