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Harvard Forest > Schoolyard LTER Database

Schoolyard LTER Database

Instructions

The options described below may be used to download and graph data from the Harvard Forest Schoolyard LTER Program and to view current tables of field sites, site surveys, schools, teachers, and tree species.

If you would like to correct or update existing information; add a new school, teacher, or tree species; or submit a photograph of your field site, please send an email message to Emery Boose. For corrections to existing data, please include the ID number of the record to be corrected. Site photographs are encouraged and may be sent as email attachments. Please submit a single image of medium size (~ 1 Mb) with landscape orientation (no people, please).

Download Data

Use Download Data to view and download data. Click on a particular project to see data for that project. Results may be filtered by selecting a particular school or a particular site or by searching for a particular string. See the links after "Order By" for sorting options.

To save results to your computer as a CSV (comma-separated value) file, click on "Selected data". The default name of the file to be downloaded is "temp.csv". Missing values will be represented as "NA". Once the file has been downloaded to your computer, you can rename it and/or load it into a spreadsheet program such as Excel.

To see a summary table of the data you have selected, click on "Summary of selected data". The Fall Phenology, Spring Phenology, and Changing Forests projects have additional options to download 50% leaf fall dates, 50% bud burst dates, and carbon biomass (respectively) by tree or by site.

Graph Data

Use Graph Data to select data and create a graph. The graph will be displayed in a separate tab or window of your browser. The name of the file to be downloaded will be "graph-xxxxxx.jpeg" where xxxxxx is a random 6-digit number. Once the file has been downloaded to your computer, you can rename it, display it (by clicking on it), and/or load it into a program such as Power Point.

1. Detailed data from a single site

Time series plots (Fall Phenology, Spring Phenology, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, Vernal Pools, Streams)

Create a graph of the selected variable as a function of date or day of the year. Select a project, school, site, optional start date and/or end date, one or more trees (for the first three projects above), and variable for the Y-axis. For Fall and Spring Phenology there is also an option to create plots of growing season by year.

Data points are shown as filled circles. The circles are connected by lines for day of the year plots and for date plots where the range of dates is less than one year. In date plots, each individual tree, vernal pool, or stream location is shown in a different color. In day of the year plots, each year is shown in a different color. In graphs with multiple individuals as a function of date or multiple years as a function of day of the year, if two or more data points share the same X and Y coordinates, only one data point will appear in the graph. The option to graph by day of the year is not available if you select more than one tree, vernal pool, or stream location.

Linear regression lines (with R2 and P values) are shown for graphs of growing season by year for single trees. The line is solid if the P value is less than 0.05; otherwise it is dotted.

Bar plots (Changing Forests)

Create a graph of stand density, basal area, or carbon biomass as a function of tree species or a graph of stand density or carbon biomass as a function of diameter class. Select a project, school, site, survey, and variable for the Y-axis. Please note that these graphs show per area values and the numbers will not be correct until all of the data for the plot and survey have been entered into the database.

2. Detailed data to compare two sites (Changing Forests)

Grouped Bar plots (Changing Forests)

Create a graph of stand density, basal area, or carbon biomass as a function of tree species or a graph of stand density or carbon biomass as a function of diameter class. Select two sites and surveys and a variable for the Y-axis. Please note that these graphs show per area values and the numbers will not be correct until all of the data for the plot and survey have been entered into the database.

3. Summary data from one or more sites

Time series plots (Fall Phenology, Spring Phenology, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, Changing Forests)

Create a graph of summary values for one or more sites as a function of year. Select a project, school (or all schools), one or more sites, and a variable for the Y-axis.

Linear regression lines (with R2 and P values) are shown for time series graphs for single sites. The line is solid if the P value is less than 0.05; otherwise it is dotted.

Box plots (Fall Phenology, Spring Phenology, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, Changing Forests)

Create a box and whisker plot of summary values for one or more sites and a given year. Select a project, school (or all schools), one or more sites, and a variable for the Y-axis.

Field Sites

Use Field Sites to view a table of field sites for each project. Each field site is uniquely identified by a code of the form "PCS-buds-001" where "PCS" is the 3-letter code for "Petersham Center School", "buds" is an abbreviation for the Fall and Spring Phenology project, and "001" is a number between 1 and 999. This table contains (for each field site) the year when observations began, the year (if any) when observations ceased, whether the site is on school property, the spatial coordinates of the site (latitude, longitude, elevation), and the town and state where the site is located. Sites are also assigned a general land-use category: natural (not landscaped, native vegetation), modified (landscaped, non-native vegetation), and edge (on the boundary between natural and modified).

Please note that a field site must be submitted and uploaded before data or site surveys can be entered.

Site Surveys

Use Site Surveys to view a table of site surveys for individual field sites. Site surveys may be submitted at any time and contain information on the physical and natural features of the site as well as signs of natural and human disturbance.

Schools

Use Schools to view a table of participating schools (past and present), associated 3-letter codes, and other related information.

Teachers

Use Teachers to view a table of participating teachers (past and present).

Tree Species

Use Tree Species to view a table of tree species and associated 2-letter codes for the fall and spring phenology projects.

Submit Data

Use Submit Data to submit new data. To do this you must belong to a particpating school and must first log into the system. (If your school does not currently participate but would like to, please send an email message to Katharine Hinkle). To log in, click on Login to view this page. If you are a new user, enter your email address in the "New User" section and press Submit. You will be sent an email message with a link to create a new account (return address = hfweb@fas.harvard.edu). If you are a returning user, enter your email address and password in the "Returning User" section and press Submit. If you have forgotten your password or would like to change it, enter your email address only and you will be sent an email message with a link to reset your password (return address = hfweb@fas.harvard.edu)

Submit Data may be used to enter new observations, new field sites, or new site surveys. Select your project, data type, school, site, and teacher's name. Use "Add" to enter new data and "Edit" to edit data already submitted but not uploaded. Use "Review Submissions" to review data entered so far. Records may be deleted if necessary by changing the value of "Delete This Record" from "no" to "yes". If a data value is missing, please leave the text box empty or select 'Missing Value' from the pull-down list.

NOTE: You must select "Add a New Observation" for each new observation. You must also press Submit to save a new observation or to edit an existing observation. If required values are missing, you'll be prompted to go back and complete them. If optional values are missing, your changes will be saved but you'll be provided with a list of missing values.

NOTE: For the fall and spring phenology projects, please enter data for each tree (not each branch). A worksheet is available to help you calculate tree values from branch values.

Data may be entered at any time. Data are initially stored in a temporary table where you can continue to add new data and edit existing data as time allows. When you have finished entering and checking your data, please send an email message to Emery Boose. Once your data have been uploaded to the main database, they will no longer appear in the Submit Data section but will be available for downloading and graphing using Download Data and Graph Data. If you discover errors after your data have been uploaded, please let us know the ID number of the record to be corrected (along with the correct values) and we will make the correction for you.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR DATA CAREFULLY. Accurate data entry is as important to a scientific study as data collection. If students are directly entering data, you may wish to have them work in pairs: one to read the values from the field sheets and the other to type them into the computer. The students should then check the entered data for accuracy. For example, they can switch roles, with the one who entered the data reading the results and the original reader checking the first student's entries to be sure they are correct, or they can sort the data in various ways to make sure nothing appears out of place (e.g. sort by date and by tree number). We ask that teachers--who ultimately bear responsibility for the accuracy of their class data--double check the data. Thanks so much for your efforts in providing us with valid data to contribute to this study.