Open Data Infrastructure for Ecotron Research Networks
CO-FAIR is building a FAIR-compliant, interoperable data ecosystem to connect ecotron facilities worldwide — accelerating scientific discovery in ecotrons and similar experimental ecosystem research platforms.
Standardizing Ecotron Data for Open Science
Fragmented data practices across ecotron installations hinder reproducibility and slow scientific progress. CO-FAIR changes that.
Findable
Persistent identifiers and rich metadata make ecotron datasets discoverable through a central search catalog.
Accessible
Open APIs and standardized protocols ensure data is retrievable through well-documented interfaces.
Interoperable
Unified metadata schemas and shared ontologies enable seamless data integration across facilities.
Reusable
Clear provenance, licensing, and community standards make datasets truly reusable for future research.
The Deep Soil Ecotron
The University of Idaho's Deep Soil Ecotron — established through an $18.9M NSF award — serves as the anchor installation for the CO-FAIR project. With 24 highly instrumented EcoUnits capable of controlled experiments on soil columns up to three meters deep, the DSE is the foundation upon which we are assembling the CO-FAIR partnership and building out pilot FAIR-compliant cyberinfrastructure for the broader ecotron network.
Learn MoreWhat CO-FAIR Is Building
Federated Data Platform
A scalable, hybrid storage system combining relational databases, object storage, and real-time data streaming via Apache Kafka pipelines.
Common Data Dictionary
A shared ontology using RDF and OWL, extending ENVO to standardize ecotron terminology across all partner facilities.
RESTful APIs
OpenAPI-compliant interfaces for querying, retrieving, and harvesting metadata across the entire ecotron network.
Central Search Catalog
Powered by OpenSearch, enabling rapid, faceted querying across all ecotron datasets with DOI-backed discovery.
Project Team
Led by researchers at the University of Idaho with deep expertise in soil science, data infrastructure, and ecotron systems.
Dr. Michael Strickland
Principal Investigator