 At each Neon terrestrial field site, data are collected about climate, habitat structure, organismal populations, biogeochemical processes, and surface atmosphere interactions. These monitoring sites were selected to represent wildland conditions and habitats typically dominant within their larger domains. The regularly conducted data collections at these field sites over the course of 30 years will provide the public with standardized and comparable data to enable end users to better understand and predict ecosystem function and change over time. Neon deploys a series of automated instruments, observational sampling, and airborne remote sensing systems to collect meteorological, organismal, phenological, and land surface data at Neon sites. Automated instrument data are collected continuously, whereas organismal data are collected on a regular schedule, and airborne data collection is timed to occur during peak greenness. Neon scientists calibrate and quality check these automated sensors and fieldwork protocols to minimize measurement errors and maximize the quality of collected data. To get a better idea of the types of data collected at a Neon terrestrial field site, let's take a tour of the Central Plains Experimental Range, or CEPR. This 65-square-kilometer research site is hosted by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and is part of the long-term Agro-Ecosystems Research Network. It lies within Domain 10 in Northern Colorado, a grazed, short-grass step high plains ecosystem. An instrumented tower stands tall above the grassland canopy and consists of four levels of sensors. These sensors measure a full profile of atmospheric conditions, collecting data that describe the physical and chemical properties of the atmosphere and the related processes including wind, humidity, temperature, gas exchange, solar radiation, and carbon storage. In addition, a digital camera mounted on the tower captures time-lapse imagery of phenological processes of surrounding vegetation. Like all a Neon terrestrial sites, CEPR hosts an array of five instrumented soil plots within the Flux Tower footprint that collect data related to soil-carbon dioxide concentrations, precipitation, solar radiation, moisture and salinity, temperature, and photosynthetic flux. These data are important to better understand the drivers of soil-biodeochemical processes and biological activity that influence ecosystem properties like plant growth and carbon exchange between the soil and the atmosphere. In addition to the automated instrument systems, Neon field technicians collect soil and organismal data and samples from plots established in the dominant vegetation types that cover the 63-square-kilometer research area at CEPR. Standardized satellite greenest data are used to ensure that the timing of field sampling is ecologically comparable to other sites within the observatory. Field sampling is conducted using standardized protocols developed in conjunction with the science community. The terrestrial organisms selected for Neon long-term monitoring include soil microbes, plants, small mammals, birds, ticks, mosquitoes, and beetles. These organisms are widely distributed, very widely in generation turnover time, from hours to years, and are considered sentinel taxa, meaning they provide excellent insight into how well ecosystems are functioning. Data on tick, mosquito, and small mammal pathogens are also collected to monitor the spread of important infectious diseases among potential wildlife host species. DNA sequencing data are used to verify species taxonomy, examine species diversity, and more. Collected specimens are available to the public upon request via the Neon Biorepository. In most years, Neon's airborne observation platform can be seen flying overhead during CEPR's peak greenness to collect a suite of complimentary remote sensing data. For this, Neon employs a small fleet of twin otter aircraft, boasting three main data collection systems. A hyperspectral imaging spectrometer measures reflected light energy. It can detect ecosystem conditions like nitrogen content in the vegetation below. A discrete and waveform lidar system that collects highly detailed 3D visualizations of the vegetation and land surfaces below. And a RGB camera that collects high-resolution photos. The data collected from CEPR and all the Neon field sites can be downloaded freely and easily from Neon's data portal and compared with data collected across the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. With Neon's standardized data and protocols, researchers and decision-makers can better understand how our ecosystems are changing over time.