Long Term Research in Environmental Biology

The Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) program is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF), specifically through the Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Division of Environmental Biology. This initiative supports research that requires long-term data to answer critical questions in evolutionary biology, ecology, and ecosystem science. The NSF, established by Congress in 1950, is a federal agency committed to promoting the progress of science and advancing national health, prosperity, and welfare by funding research and education in various scientific disciplines. The LTREB program is designed to generate extended time series of data to address questions that cannot be resolved with short-term data collection. It focuses on a wide array of research areas, including the effects of natural selection, evolutionary processes, interspecies interactions, population dynamics, ecosystem feedbacks, and the impact of long-term external factors such as climatic cycles. The program emphasizes the need for decadal research plans and mandates at least six years of previously collected data (core data) to qualify for funding. This requirement ensures that the research is well-grounded and capable of addressing complex, long-term scientific questions. LTREB proposals are managed under one of three clusters: Ecosystem Science, Population and Community Ecology, and Evolutionary Processes. Eligible applicants include accredited U.S.-based institutions of higher education and non-profit, non-academic organizations such as museums, observatories, and professional societies associated with educational or research activities. While there are no restrictions on who may serve as a principal investigator or on the number of proposals submitted per individual or organization, the proposals must include specific components like a decadal research plan and a comprehensive description of the core data. Applications are accepted at any time and must be submitted through either Research.gov or Grants.gov, following the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The proposal should contain a 15-page project description for initial submissions or a 10-page description for renewals. Supporting documents such as data management plans, mentoring plans, and letters of collaboration may also be required. Notably, proposals must include mechanisms for broad data sharing to encourage scientific collaboration and data reuse. Proposals are evaluated based on NSF’s standard merit review criteria—Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts—as well as additional LTREB-specific criteria, including the scientific rationale for the ten-year research plan and the quality and continuity of the core data. Approximately ten awards are made annually, with an anticipated funding amount of $6 million per year, pending availability of funds. Each award is limited to a maximum of $600,000 over five years, and voluntary cost sharing is not permitted. For more information, applicants can contact Program Officers Betsy von Holle (mvonholl@nsf.gov, 703-292-4974) or Robyn Smyth (rsmyth@nsf.gov, 703-292-2996). The NSF strongly encourages prospective applicants to reach out to these contacts for guidance, particularly if the fit of the research project with LTREB is uncertain.