Information for Researchers – Jornada Basin LTER

Any person or entity conducting research funded by or in association with the Jornada Basin LTER (JRN) as an investigator, postdoc, student, collaborator, or staff researcher must follow the policies described below. In short, the requirements are to 1) request approval prior to beginning research, 2) submit data and metadata during the research, or for some collaborators, when research concludes, 3) acknowledge JRN support and data use in publications or other research products, and 4) follow our safety and conduct guidelines when you are working at the Jornada. Full details for these requirements are below. The JRN Code of Ethics also applies to all researchers. JRN coordinates closely with the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range (JER) and the two share similar research policies.

Request approval for new research

To start a new research project with JRN, the process begins with submission of a “Notification of Proposed Research” form. This form must be approved by the Jornada Site Manager, John Anderson, before work can begin. All researchers working at the JER must also have a current federal permit on file with the Jornada USDA-ARS office.

Download the Jornada Notification of Proposed Research form (MS Word .docx format), complete, and send as an email attachment to janderso@nmsu.edu.
If working on the JER, contact Nicki Daniels (nicole.daniels@usda.gov) for instructions on how to obtain federal permit.
Jornada Research Notifications and federal JER permits must be submitted and approved before work can begin.
Please be aware that all JRN-led projects require submission of data, metadata, and project information on a regular basis (see below).

Submit data and metadata

There are 2 general requirements for all approved JRN researchers. First, our funding requires that we make research data publicly available in a timely manner, so researchers must submit data for publication as described below. Second, to assist Jornada site managers in effectively coordinating the many research activities happening across the Jornada Basin, researchers must provide project information to keep our listing of active research activity, locations, personnel, and infrastructure up to date.

How to submit a dataset

All JRN researchers are participants in the LTER Network and are therefore required to submit their research data and metadata in accordance with the LTER Data Access Policy. We require all JRN researchers to submit data and metadata yearly to our research data archive. We publish this data in LTER-approved repositories at the time research results are peer-reviewed and published, or no later than 2 years after collection. There are two possible ways

Make an account on the EDI repository’s ezEML system and share a dataset with a Jornada data manager (jornada.data@nmsu.edu) from there.
Download the Jornada Metadata Template (MS Word .docx format), fill it out and send as an email attachment to jornada.data@nmsu.edu.

External/collaborating Jornada researchers supported by non-LTER or non-USDA funds are asked to provide data and metadata, OR links to relevant datasets in open access repositories, upon conclusion or publication of the research.

The JRN Information Management team will gladly assist with data archiving and publishing. Researchers can find detailed instructions for documenting and submitting datasets and more metadata templates on the Jornada-IM website.

Updating project information

The most important task for updating project information is to communicate regularly with our research site manager, John Anderson (janderso@nmsu.edu) and other site leadership. Please notify the Jornada in advance about major new research activities and changes to project status, personnel, infrastructure, etc.
The Jornada also maintains a research project database and requires that representative researchers (usually PIs) submit information to populate and update this database regularly. Investigators with new projects should submit a project information template within 6 months of initial data collection. Thereafter, project information templates should be updated yearly until the project ends.
Download the Jornada Project Info template (MS Word .docx format)
Send as an email attachment to jornada.data@nmsu.edu.

Acknowledge Jornada funding and data

When research products reach a public form, i.e. a dissertation defense, publications in scientific journals, or other milestones, we ask that researchers acknowledge any Jornada LTER or USDA-ARS funding and/or data that supported the research.

Acknowledging funding or other support

Include the support received, the name of the program (Jornada Basin LTER, for example), and relevant grant numbers in the Acknowledgements section of any journal article, thesis, dissertation, or other publication. Example text is below.

LTER funded	“This work was supported by funding from the National Science Foundation to New Mexico State University for the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research Program (DEB 2025166).”
USDA funded	“This work was supported by CRIS# 3050-11210-009-00D from the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range and USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network.”

Support to acknowledge may include direct funding of research or personnel costs allocated from the LTER or USDA grants, fellowship support to graduate students, logistical or data collection support from the Jornada field crew, or data management services from the Jornada Information Management team.
If research was performed at USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range (JER) or NMSU Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC), but no direct support was provided by LTER or USDA programs, include the following:

At JER	“The Jornada Experimental Range is administered by the USDA-ARS and supported by the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research Program and the USDA Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network.”
At CDRRC	“The Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center is administered by New Mexico State University.”

How to cite Jornada data

When research findings that include Jornada data appear in a publication (journal article, dissertation, website, etc.), please include a citation and link to the original data.
For already-published long-term datasets include a DOI link at a minimum, and if possible, a full citation in the reference section (e.g. in a journal article).
If the data are new and unpublished, please publish the dataset AND cite it in the publication.
In either case, researchers are advised to coordinate with the Jornada Information Managers (jornada.data@nmsu.edu) early in the research and publication process to ensure timely data publication and proper citation in the publication. Publication of datasets (and issuance of DOIs) can be timed to coincide with the approval & copyediting phase of a new journal article when needed.

The Jornada Safety Handbook and Code of Conduct

The programs and facilities of the Jornada, including JRN LTER and the Jornada LTAR site, are committed to ensuring a safe, inclusive, and productive work environment for all participants that come to do research there. We maintain a Safety Handbook and Code of Conduct document that is regularly updated with input from our community. If you will be visiting the Jornada, or any of our affiliated facilities, please read the document and follow all relevant guidelines. All Jornada LTER participants, including students, investigators, and staff, are also expected to follow the Jornada LTER Code of Ethics when engaged in Jornada work- or research-related activities (physically present at the Jornada or not).

Some important sections of the handbook are:

You can download the full handbook as a PDF file.