FSML Very Large Ecological Array

蓝橡树牧场保护区（BORR）成立于2007年12月，是加州大学自然保护区系统的最新成员。2004年初，蓝橡树信托基金会向大学提出了一项向自然保护区系统捐赠土地的建议。2005年初完成了对四个校区的审查，委员会强烈建议将该物业纳入NRS。经过与加州大学自然保护区系统全系统办公室三年的谈判，蓝橡树牧场信托基金将3,260英亩牧场的所有权转让给了加州大学的董事会，沿着提供了300万美元的启动运营和运营捐赠。两名全职学术专业人员在现场工作。项目计划：该奖项授予加州大学伯克利分校，用于部署新一代生态传感系统的设备，即超大型生态阵列（VeLEA），该阵列使用商业无线传感器网络技术设计用于通用环境传感。VeLEA将作为一个可扩展、可配置的分布式无线（WiFi）通信骨干网，使BORR的研究人员和教育工作者能够在BORR内的任何位置或栖息地部署现成的环境传感器、网络摄像机、定制传感器和专用仪器。这种模块化通用传感器阵列的科学应用是多方面的。VeLEA将提供BORR不同地形和生态社区微气象参数时空变异的多尺度表示，与许多拟议和正在进行的研究项目相关。分布在数百个地点的传感器将监测土壤剖面的湿度和温度梯度，近地面传感器将记录温度、相对湿度、降雨量、风速和太阳辐射的时间变化。水生传感器将跟踪微观和宏观流域的地表和地下水流、浓度和湿度梯度。物种和生态系统对区域和小气候变异性的反应研究将受益于VeLEA观测站数据流。传感器网络硬件可以集成树液流传感跟踪蒸腾和水通量从降雨，通过土壤和树木，将是有价值的植物physiology.The蓝橡树牧场橡树林地和草原栖息地的研究代表受威胁的加州生态系统的压力下，发展，入侵物种的入侵和气候变化。VeLEA网络基础设施将对许多用户有用，用于生态研究，教学和公共教育。VeLEA将通过在其网站和硅谷地区的当地科技博物馆进行宣传，直接帮助公众了解气候变化的影响。PI正在与私营非营利性K-12科学教育外展组织以及圣何塞地区当地科技博物馆的工作人员建立合作关系。

History: Blue Oak Ranch Reserve (BORR), established in December 2007, is the newest addition to the University of California Natural Reserve System. In early 2004, the Blue Oak Trust approached the University with a proposal to donate land to the Natural Reserve System. A four-campus review was completed in early 2005, with a strong recommendation by the committee for acceptance of the property into the NRS. After three years of negotiations with the UC Natural Reserve System System-wide Office, the Blue Oak Ranch Trust transferred ownership of the 3,260 acre Ranch to the Regents of the University of California, along with a grant of $3M towards startup operations and an operating endowment. Two full-time academic professional staff work on site. Project plan: This award to UC-Berkeley is for equipment to deploy a new generation of ecological sensing system, the Very Large Ecological Array (VeLEA) using commercial wireless sensor network technology designed for general purpose environmental sensing. VeLEA will function as a scalable, configurable distributed wireless (WiFi) communication backbone to allow investigators and educators at BORR to deploy off-the-shelf environmental sensors, network cameras, custom sensors and specialized instruments at any location or habitat within BORR. The science applications for such a modular general purpose array of sensors are multifaceted. VeLEA will provide a multi-scale representation of the temporal and spatial variability of micro-meteorological parameters across the diverse topographic and ecological communities at BORR, of relevance to numerous proposed and ongoing research projects. Sensors distributed in hundreds of locations will monitor soil profiles for moisture and temperature gradients, near ground sensors will document temporal changes in temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed and solar radiation. Aquatic sensors will track surface and subsurface flows, concentrations and gradients of moisture across micro and macro watersheds. Studies of the responses of species and ecosystems to regional and microclimatic variability will benefit from the VeLEA observatory data streams. Sensor network hardware can integrate sap flow sensing to track transpiration and water flux from rainfall, through soils and into trees and will be of value to studies of plant physiology.The Blue Oak Ranch oak woodland and grassland habitats represent threatened California ecosystems that are under pressure from development, invasive species encroachment, and climate change. VeLEA cyberinfrastructure will be of use to many users, for ecological research, instruction and public education. VeLEA will directly benefit public understanding of climate change effects through outreach on their website and at the local science and technology museums in the Silicon Valley area. The PIs are establishing collaborations with private non-profit K-12 science education outreach organizations and with the staff at local science and technology museums in the San Jose area.