LTER Data Catalog

Soil Chemical Properties- Baseline Spatial Variability Study

Baseline soil chemical properties were analyzed for an array of geo-referenced points prior to the start of the Main Cropping System Experiment.

The standard data use policy applies to the this dataset

Context:

A spatial variability study conducted across the LTER main site area (45 ha) at KBS prior to dividing the site into 1-ha experimental plots. During the 1988 growing season a stratified unaligned sampling scheme was used to collect 400-600 geo-referenced samples across the site (uniformly planted to a single variety of soybeans) for:

  1. geomorphological characteristics (microtopography, soil horizon depths, bulk density, texture);
  2. soil chemical characteristics (pH, NO3, NH4, total C, total N, moisture, inorganic P, trace metals);
  3. soil biological characteristics (N mineralization potentials, microbial biomass C, microbial biomass N, fungal/bacterial ratios, nematodes and other soil invertebrates; seed bank size);
  4. plant weed species abundance, weed biomass at peak standing crop); and
  5. insect characteristics (major pest and predator species).

Most soil samples were taken before crop emergence, plant phenology samples were taken throughout the growing season, biomass samples were taken at physiological maturity, and insect samples were taken continuously. Dried soil and plant samples are archived for potential future analysis.

Experiment: Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE)
Temporal Coverage: 1988-01-01 to 1988-01-01
Dataset: KBS003
Datatable ID: KBS003-002.21
Related Tables:
Personnel:
Last Updated 2010-03-23
Metadata
Variate Description Units
easting easting of sampling location in UTM 16N meter
northing northing of sampling location in UTM 16N meter
h2o fw soil moisture (fresh weight basis) in % %
pH soil pH dimensionless
hplus soil H+ activity in 10E+6 H+ dimensionless
total c total C in % %
total n total N in % %
soil cn C:N ratio dimensionless
h2o dw soil moisture (dry weight basis) in % %
h2o m2 soil moisture (dry weight, areal basis) in kg/m2 kilograms/squaremeter
total c m2 total C (areal basis) in kg/m2 kilograms/squaremeter
total n m2 total N (areal basis) in kg/m2 kilograms/squaremeter

Data Excerpt

Easting Northing H2o Fw Ph Hplus Total C Total N Soil Cn H2o Dw H2o M2 Total C M2 Total N M2
633981 4696121 11.3 6.63 0.234 1.096 0.111 9.9 12.7 28.6 2.47 0.25
634280 4696128 9.8 7.03 0.093 1.016 0.105 9.7 10.9 24.6 2.29 0.24
634081 4696127 11.8 6.93 0.117 1.099 0.114 9.6 13.4 30.2 2.47 0.26
633913 4696126 13.9 6.62 0.24 1.374 0.139 9.9 16.1 36.3 3.09 0.31
633914 4696128 12.8 6.7 0.2 1.345 0.134 10 14.7 33.1 3.03 0.3
Back to Data Catalog