The NEON Biorepository’s Environmental Collections provide a distinctive and valuable resource by preserving soil, rainwater, and particulate matter samples that complement NEON’s biological specimens and associated ecological data. These collections offer environmental context for interpreting biological patterns and ecosystem processes, enabling researchers to investigate relationships among organisms, environmental conditions, and ecosystem change. Their inclusion of environmental materials is unusual for natural history collections, extending the traditional scope of preserved biodiversity specimens to encompass the physical and chemical environments in which organisms live.