These protocols are undergoing review and revision. Please check for changes in the future.
The following examples show the preferred format for submitted data and metadata. Note that the “LTERYear” field is required, and does not replace any other date fields in the file. This field represents the year the data becomes available to the researcher and is used to identify the age of data so that it can be released to the public in accordance with LTER standards. It is possible for the LTERYear to differ from the year identified in a “sampling date” field (e.g. a chemical analysis of a sample could be performed years after the soil was collected).
Submitted files should be in vertical bar delimited text files. Each field should be clearly labeled and fully described.
Data set: Soil nitrogen Note: The use of any parts of these data requires written permission from Joan Doesmith, c/o LTER Data Management, 100 Ecology Building, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108. Label Experiment: Cedar Creek Experiment number
LTERYear|Experiment|Plot|Date|Moisture|NO3soil|NH4 |
Additional metadata should be submitted in a separate file. Each section of metadata should be labeled, with the most common labels being “Protocol” ( a proscriptive procedure), “Method” (a descriptive procedure or observation) or “Instrumentation”. Additional labels may be used at the discretion of the researcher. This label should be followed by a Title for the section of metadata which in turn should be followed by the text of the metadata. See example below.
Data set: Soil nitrogen data Protocol Protocol Method Instrumentation Instrumentation |
Please email data and metadata files to webmaster@cedarcreek.umn.edu or danbaha@umn.edu .
