Northern Plains Domain

The NEON candidate core site at the Woodworth Field Station in east central North Dakota represents the Northern Plains Domain, a region that includes a large swath of Montana, northwestern Wyoming, almost all of the Dakotas, and much of western Minnesota. The station is representative of the prairie pothole ecosystem, an area of importance for breeding waterfowl and other wildlife dependent on wetlands. Land use is the NEON focus in the Northern Plains, and the domain shares an agriculture and biofuels research emphasis with the Prairie Peninsula (Domain 6, Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas). Collaborators at the site and in the region include North Dakota State University, the United States Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Domain: Northern Plains (Domain #9)

Science Focus: Land use.

Candidate Core Site Name: Woodworth Field Station

Representativeness: The site is located in the northwestern glaciated plains ecoregion, with mixed-grass prairie vegetation typical of the central portion of the domain.

Location: Latitude: 47.127; Longitude: -99.235.

Existing Infrastructure: The nearby Dakota Coteau Field School will provide laboratories, space for training and educational programs, and equipment for remote reception of data.

Unique Feature: The station represents the Prairie Pothole Region, an area of extreme importance to breeding waterfowl and other wetland-dependent wildlife.