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We describe the process by which the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network standardised their metadata through the adoption of the Ecological Metadata Language (EML). We describe the strategies developed to improve motivation and to complement the information teclmology resources available at the LTER sites. EML implementation is presented as a mapping process that was accomplished per site in stages, with metadata quality ranging from 'discovery level' to rich-content level over time. As of publication, over 6000 rich-content standardised records have been published using EML, potentially enabling the goal of machine-mediated, metadata-driven data synthesis. Brunt, J. (2009) 'The Long-Term Ecological Research community metadata standardisation project: a progress report', Int. J. Metadata Semantics and Ontologies, Vol. Biographical notes: I. San Gil received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Yale University in 2001. He is currently the metadata project coordinator and senior systems analyst for the National Biological Information Infrastructure and Long-Term Ecological Network. His current research interests include metadata management systems, bioinformatics, and metadata-driven systems. Karen Baker holds an MS from the University of California at Los Angeles, and she is currently the information manager at Scripps Institution of Oceanography for ClCOFI, Palmer LTER and California Current Ecosystem LTERs. John Campbell holds a PhD from the State University of New York and he is currently the information manager at Hubbard Brook LTER. Ellen G. Denny holds a MFS from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and is part of the information management team for the Hubbard Brook LTER site. Kristin Vanderbilt received her PhD (Biology) at the U. of New Mexico, where she is currently an Associate Research Professor and the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager. Brian Riordan received an MS from the University of Alaska -Fairbanks, he currently works at the private sector on GIS. Rebecca Koskela is a Bioinformatics Specialist at the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, Rebecca was a member of the senior management team at the Aventis Cambridge Genome Center. Jason Downing is the current Information Manager at the Bonanza Creek LTER. Sabine Grabner received her MS (Meteorology) from the James Brunt is an Associate Director for Information Management of the LTER Network Office, he leads and supervises a staff of six who provide operations and maintenance of LTER cyberinfrastructure, design and develop the L TER Network Information System, and provide stewardship of LTER Network databases and websites. He pursued a unique MS mixing Ecology, Computer Science, and Experimental Statistics at NMSU.

The H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA) encompasses the 6400 ha LookoutCreek watershed in western Oregon, USA. Hydrologic, chemistry and precipitation data have been collected, curated, and archived for up to 70 years. The HJA was established in 1948 to study the effects of harvest of old-growth conifer forest and logging-road construction on water quality, quantity and vegetation succession. Over time, research questions have expanded to include terrestrial and aquatic species, communities and ecosystem dynamics. There are nine small experimental watersheds and 10 gaging stations in the HJA, including both reference and experimentally treated watersheds. Gaged watershed areas range from 8.5 to 6242 ha. All gaging stations record stage height, water conductivity, water temperature and abovestream air temperature. At nine of the gage sites, flow-proportional water samples are collected and composited over 3-week intervals for chemical analysis. Analysis of stream and precipitation chemistry began in 1968. Analytes include dissolved and particulate species of nitrogen and phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, pH, specific conductance, suspended sediment, alkalinity, and major cations and anions. Supporting climate measurements began in the 1950s in association with the first small watershed experiments. Over time, and following the initiation of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) grant in 1980, infrastructure expanded to include a set of benchmark and secondary meteorological stations located in clearings spanning the elevation range within the Lookout Creek watershed, as well as a large number of forest understory temperature stations. Extensive metadata on sensor configurations, changes in methods over time, sensor accuracy and precision, and data quality control flags are associated with the HJA data.

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