Terms and Conditions for the Use of Wind River_Dendrometer dendrometer Data

Data Request: Data requests for new analyses must include the names and organizational affiliations of all prospective collaborators, a specific summary of the work to be done (approximately 250 words) that includes an overview of the analytical methods, an estimated timeline, and a statement that all collaborators will abide by the terms of this agreement. Data requests to reproduce the results of any published manuscript should state that data will only be used for that verification. Undergraduate or graduate students should have their faculty adviser submit a data request on their behalf.

Non-transferability: Collaborators are not permitted to share the WFDP data with any person or entity not mentioned in their data request.

Citation: Any publication that uses WFDP data must include the following two citations in the main text of the manuscript (citations in the Supplemental Information are not sufficient). Prospective data users should note that some journals have limitations as to the number of citations, but these two must be included even in that eventuality.

Lutz, J. A, A. J. Larson, J. A. Freund, M. E. Swanson, and K. J. Bible. 2013. The ecological importance of large-diameter trees to forest structural heterogeneity. PLOS ONE 8(12): e82784.

Lutz, J. A., A. J. Larson, T. J. Furniss, J. A. Freund, M. E. Swanson, D. C. Donato, K. J. Bible, J. Chen, and J. F. Franklin. 2014. Spatially non-random tree mortality and ingrowth maintain equilibrium pattern in an old-growth Pseudotsuga-Tsuga forest. Ecology 95(8): 2047-2054.

Within publications, the plot should be referred to as the “Wind River Forest Dynamics Plot” and abbreviated as “WFDP”.

Authorship: The WFDP Principal Investigator conceptualized the research at the WFDP, selected the field location, designed the specific data collection protocols, acquired initial and ongoing data, and has worked since 2003 in understanding the plant species, environmental characteristics, and dynamics of the study site in order to make correct inferences about the ecological processes at the WFDP. These intellectual contributions exceed the guidelines for co-authorship of the journals Nature and Science, the USDA Forest Service, and the Ecological Society of America. Accordingly, collaborators will include the WFDP Principal Investigator as a co-author on all resulting publications and will extend to the WFDP Principal Investigator the opportunity to contribute to manuscript drafts. Collaborators will also assure that the WFDP Principal Investigator approves all journal submissions. Use of some ancillary data from the WFDP (e.g., genetic sequence data) may require the co-authorship of additional collaborators as appropriate acknowledgement of their contributions.

Derived Data and Code: Collaborators agree to share their derived data, additionally collected data, and code with the WFDP Principal Investigator (or publish it with their manuscript) and agree that these data will become part of the WFDP data archive and available for the WFDP Principal Investigator’s future use.

Field Access: Any visits to the Wind River Forest Dynamics Plot and all field data collection must be approved by the Principal Investigator and covered by the research plan agreed between the Principal Investigator and the relevant land management agency each December (for the following year). The Principal Investigator cannot provide any field accommodations for visitors or field staff to assist with bespoke data collection without reimbursement of all expenses.

Limitation of Use: Collaborators may not use WFDP data for projects or analyses other than those specifically described in their data request. A new data request must be submitted (and approved) for any new use of the data. Collaborators acquire no rights to the data and are not permitted to sell or transfer the data to other researchers or use the data in any way for commercial gain. Any commercial use requires a data use license (contact PI Lutz directly). WFDP data may not be uploaded to any other website, repository, or journal archive. Data are already archived at the Smithsonian. The data availability statement for publications is, “Tree data for the Wind River Forest Dynamics Plot is available at the Smithsonian ForestGEO data portal, https://forestgeo.si.edu.”

Acknowledgements: All publications that include the WFDP data must acknowledge the institutions and funding that have contributed to the research. The WFDP Principal Investigator will provide an updated acknowledgement statement at the time of manuscript submission.

The Wind River Forest Dynamics Plot is a collaborative project of Utah State University and the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. Funding has been provided by the Smithsonian ForestGEO, Utah State University, the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station (projects 1153, 1398, and 1423), the National Science Foundation (DEB #1542681), and private donors. We acknowledge the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the U.S. Forest Service Wind River Field Station for providing logistical support, and the students, volunteers and staff individually listed at http://wfdp.org for data collection. Research was performed under long-term research permits issued by the USFS with validity from 2010 – 2040.