Terms and Conditions for the Use of Luquillo tree Data

Data Request: In order to access the LFDP 16-hectare Forest Dynamics Plot data a "Data Request Form" must be completed. This form requires that the applicant agree to comply with "Terms and Conditions" for the use of the LFDP Data as described here.

Non-transferability: Prospective investigators are not permitted to share the LFDP data with other parties not included on the Data Request Form.

Citation: Any publication that uses LFDP plot data should include the following citation:

Zimmerman, Jess K., Liza S. Comita, Jill Thompson, María Uriarte, and Nicholas Brokaw. 2010. Patch dynamics and community metastability of a subtropical forest: compound effects of natural disturbance and human land use. Landscape Ecology 25: 1099-1111.

Copies of articles: Copies of manuscripts should be sent to the PI, Jess Zimmerman (jesskz@ites.upr.edu), prior to submission for publication. Once published, the PDF and any supplementary documents should also be sent to the PI.

Limitation of Use: Prospective investigators are discouraged from using LFDP data for projects or analyses other than those explicitly described in the Data Request Form. To help the PIs to keep track of data use, a new Data Request Form should be submitted for any new use of the data. Prospective investigators are also not permitted to sell the data, or use them in any way for commercial gain.

Data Citation: Any publication that uses LFDP data should state the specific version number of the data set used for analysis. This version number will be provided when the data are downloaded.

Acknowledgements: All publications that include the LFDP data must acknowledge the institutions and funding that enabled the establishment of the plot with the following acknowledgement:

“This research was supported by grants BSR-8811902, DEB 9411973, DEB 0080538, DEB 0218039, DEB 0620910, DEB 0963447 AND DEB-129764 from NSF to the Department of Environmental Science, University of Puerto Rico, and to the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service, as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. The U.S. Forest Service (Dept. of Agriculture) and the University of Puerto Rico gave additional support. The LFDP is part of the Smithsonian Institution Forest Global Earth Observatory, a worldwide network of large, long-term forest dynamics plots.”