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Metadata describe the ancillary information needed for data preservation and independent interpretation, comparison across heterogeneous datasets, and quality assessment and quality control (QA/QC). Environmental observations are vastly diverse in type and structure, can be taken across a wide range of spatiotemporal scales in a variety of measurement settings and approaches, and saved in multiple formats. Thus, well-organized, consistent metadata are required to produce usable data products from diverse environmental observations collected across field sites. However, existing metadata reporting protocols do not support the complex data synthesis and model-data integration needs of interdisciplinary earth system research. We developed a metadata reporting framework (FRAMES) to enable management and synthesis of observational data that are essential in advancing a predictive understanding of earth systems. FRAMES utilizes best practices for data and metadata organization enabling consistent data reporting and compatibility with a variety of standardized data protocols. We used an iterative scientist-centered design process to develop FRAMES, resulting in a data reporting format that incorporates existing field practices to maximize data-entry efficiency. Thus, FRAMES has a modular organization that streamlines metadata reporting and can be expanded to incorporate additional data types. With FRAMES's multi-scale measurement position hierarchy, data can be reported at observed spatial resolutions and then easily aggregated and linked across measurement types to support model-data integration. FRAMES is in early use by both data originators (persons generating data) and consumers (persons using data and metadata). In this paper, we describe FRAMES, identify lessons learned, and discuss areas of future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Throughout the tropics, non-native grasses invade, dominate, and persist in areas where subtropical and tropical dry forests have been highly degraded. In Central America and the Caribbean Islands, forests that regenerate in grass-invaded areas are generally composed of one to a few tree species, usually of the Fabaceae family and often non-native. We investigated the ecological factors that drive these successional patterns in southwestern Puerto Rico, where African grasses dominate extensive areas that are maintained by fires. The non-native legume tree Leucaena leucocephala commonly establishes in these areas and forms persistent, mono-dominant stands. We planted 455 saplings of 13 native tree species and Leucaena in native forest understory and in grass-invaded areas that were either subjected to or protected from prescribed fires 4months later. We measured growth and survival to test the following hypotheses: (1) saplings of native species are suppressed in grass-invaded areas compared to the forest understory, (2) Leucaena saplings outperform native species in grass-invaded areas, but not in the forest understory, and (3) Leucaena saplings are less susceptible to wildfires than native species. After 20months, 50%, 40%, and 3% of native saplings survived in the forest, unburned-grass, and burned-grass treatments, respectively. Over the same period, 90%, 80%, and 25% of Leucaena survived in the same treatments. The fires immediately killed 65% of native saplings and 50% of Leucaena saplings. The majority of unburned native saplings died during a seasonal drought, when high irradiance and reduced soil organic matter content likely led to higher mortality in grass-invaded areas than in forest understory. Native species’ growth was low in all treatments, yet diameter growth was slightly higher in the unburned grass than the forest understory. Leucaena saplings grew faster than the native saplings in all three treatments, especially in the unburned grass. Slow growth and high mortality of native saplings in grass-invaded areas contribute to the dominance of Leucaena in forests that regenerate on these sites and suggest that Leucaena may play a beneficial role in dry forest restoration in the Caribbean. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]