KBS019:Primary Production of Herbaceous Systems of the Main Cropping System Experiment

This dataset contains the biomass data of herbaceous systems of the Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE), including Treatments 1-4 and 6-8 at the LTER Main Site (since 1990) and the Mid-successional (TSF) site (since 1993). Included are the data collected at or near peak biomass to estimate aboveground net primary production (ANPP). Systems with multiple harvests or with peaks occurring at different times throughout the growing season may have multiple measurements per year. See the ANPP protocol for sampling and measurement methods of these treatments.

Tables

KBS019-000 Standardized Plant Species Codes

Short semi-descriptive sequences of letters used as standardized codes for the plant species encountered in the KBS LTER and GLBRC Experiments.

KBS019-003 Annual Crops and Alfalfa/Switchgrass Biomass

Aboveground biomass of MCSE annual crops (corn-soybean-wheat; T1-T4) and alfalfa/switchgrass (T6) clipped at ground level. Annual crops are sampled just before harvest near peak biomass and are threshed after drying to separate seed from stover. Alfalfa (1990-2017) was replaced by switchgrass in 2019 after a fallow year (2018). Alfalfa was sampled before crop harvest(s); switchgrass is sampled at peak biomass. See Related Tables for biomass of non-crop species in samples.

KBS019-004 Non-crop Biomass

Aboveground biomass of non-crop species (i.e., species other than main crop and/or cover crop) in MCSE Treatments 1-8 at the LTER Main Site at or near peak biomass. For successional treatments (T7, and T8), non-crop species refers to all species present in the community. Note that Alfalfa (T6, 1990-2017) may have been harvested multiple times during the growing season.

Also included are the following categories. “Standing Dead” is the biomass of rooted dead plants that grew in the year sampled but were unidentifiable at harvest. “Surface Litter” is the biomass of loose plant material remaining on the soil surface after clipping that may or may not have grown in the year sampled. "Standing Dead” was first sampled in 1997 and “Surface Litter” in 1998. From 1999 to 2011 plant scraps in samples that could not be identified to species were included in "Standing Dead", but since 2012 they are separated into an “Unsorted” category. Also note in 1998, plants were sorted to functional group rather than species.

KBS019-005 Cover Crop Biomass

Aboveground biomass of cover crops in the MCSE Reduced Input (T3) and Biologically Based (T4) treatments at the LTER Main Site before their incorporation into soil. Cover crops are planted the preceding year and plowed under the next spring prior to planting corn or soybean. Winter wheat is planted immediately after the soybean harvest, so wheat years have no cover crop biomass data. See Related Tables for biomass of non-cover crop species in samples.

KBS019-010 Scope of Non-crop Biomass

Summary of sampling effort represented in the Non-crop Biomass table, by Treatment, Replicate, Station, etc.

KBS019-014 Non-Crop (Weed) Species Diversity Index

Average species diversity as computed by the Shannon-Weaver H index based on the biomass of each species compared to the total biomass per station. This dataset is based on Non Crop Biomass.

KBS019-018 Temporal Harvest of Non-crop Species

Biomass of non-crop species during the growing season and at peak biomass in MCSE Treatments 1-5, 7, and 8 at the LTER Main Site and at the Mid-successional (TSF) site to examine temporal distribution of species and biomass. Includes two harvests in 1990, 1992,1995, and 1996 for all treatments and four harvests in 1994 for Treatment 7 only.

KBS019-019 Top Non-crop species by Biomass
This datatable is derived from KBS019-004 it includes the average species proportion and the treatment species proportion. The treatment species proportion is calculated by diving the total biomass of the species for the whole treatment by the total biomass for that treatment. This table excludes standing dead biomass (which is part of the current year's biomass) and surface litter (which may not be part of the current year's biomas).
KBS019-021 Biomass Compilation of Herbaceous Systems

Compilation of crop biomass, cover crop and non-crop biomass of MCSE Treatments 1-4 and 6-8 at the LTER Main Site to provide a consolidated view of the annual biomass production of the herbaceous cropping systems. The herbaceous understory (non-crop biomass) of the Poplar treatment (T5) and the Mid-successional (TSF) site is also included. Plant biomass is listed for the "Whole" aboveground plant material for each species; for crop species, the biomass of "Seed" and/or "Stover" may also be included.

For this table, “Surface Litter” is removed from the non-crop biomass. ‘Standing Dead’ is included and represents the biomass of rooted dead plants that cannot be identified to species; it may also include plant scraps that could not be identified after sorting.

KBS019-023 Early Successional (T7) Post Frost Biomass

Post-frost biomass of plants and surface litter in the MCSE Early Successional treatment (T7) is sampled as an estimate of the minimum harvestable biomass for cellulosic biofuel feedstock production. Since 2008, post-frost samples are collected after the air temperature dips below -2.2 C or 28 F at least once. Plants are not sorted to species but are separated from the surface litter; both fractions are weighed separately, and reported by sampling station (S1-S5) since 2012 and averaged across stations from 2008-2011.

Pre-frost biomass values are from the non crop biomass and are included for comparison as an estimate of maximum harvestable biomass. The “Unsorted” category in this table is defined as the total biomass of all species plus the unsorted category in the non-crop biomass table. As above, ”Surface litter” is not included in the "Unsorted" category; values are transferred directly from the non-crop biomass table.

KBS019-026 Prairie Strip Biomass and Species Composition

Biomass and species composition of plants in the prairie strips of the MCSE Reduced Input (T3) and Biologically Based (T4) treatments at the LTER Main Site.

Protocols

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