Soil Leachate - Nitrate via Suction Lysimeters — Living Field Lab (LFL) Study

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Volume and nitrate concentration of soil water leachate collected from plots of the Living Field Laboratory using suction lysimeters.

This datatable is part of the Living Field Laboratory dataset.

The Living Field Laboratory is a long-term rotation study established in 1993 under the direction of Emeritus Professor Dr. Richard Harwood to evaluate the benefits of cover crops (as green manure) and/or the addition of composted dairy manure in two integrated systems compared to a conventional and an organic system. The LFL accommodates every entry point of the crop rotation each year and has a factorial design that allows for the comparison of a number of interactions. These interactions include: differences in N management, rotation effects, and cover crops. From 1993 through 2005, the rotation consisted of corn (Zea mays L.)/corn/soybean (Glycine max)/wheat (Triticum aestivum) vs. continuous corn. During this period, crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) was seeded to 1st yr. corn, 2nd yr corn was in rye grass (Lolium multiflorum), soybean had no cover, and red clover (Trifolium pretense L.) was frost-seeded into wheat.

In 2006, under the direction of Dr. Sieglinde Snapp and through consultation with a farmer advisory group, the rotation was shortened to a 3 yr rotation of corn/soybean/wheat vs. continuous corn. The remaining plot in each management system was converted to a 2 yr rotation of corn/soybean. Cereal rye (Secale cereale) is now planted after corn regardless of crop rotation. Cereal rye follows soybean in the 2-yr rotation. Red clover is frost-seeded into wheat.

The management systems are: Conventional, Integrated Fertilizer and Integrated Compost. Weed management is identical across systems, and nitrogen fertilizer management adjusted to take into account soil N availability and balance nitrogen inputs across treatments. The cover crop is present as a split plot (plus minus) within each system. The split-plot cover crop treatment was established in 1993 in Integrated Fertilizer and in Integrated Compost, while the split-plot cover crop treatment was established 14 years later in 2007 in the Conventional treatment, to allow a comparison of short and long-term cover crop presence.

In 2007, the organic management system was changed to a comparison of a perennial grain systems (perennial wheat-alfalfa intercrop) and a 4-yr rotation of corn/soybean/wheat/ alfalfa (Medicago sativa). This allows the comparison of a typical Michigan field crop organic system to a novel system that involves a new, perennial system.

Note

Experiment: Living Field Lab (LFL) Study
Data available from: January 1993 to January 2003
Dataset: KBS042
Datatable ID: KBS042-018.78
Core Areas Inorganic Nutrients,Disturbance
Repository link: http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/76c22606a2a67cbca8f33149d3b5dfb6
Related Tables:
Personnel:
Last Updated 2023-10-24
Variate Description Units
Year year in which the date occurs
Plot plot ID
Rep field replicate
Cover cover crop present or not
Mgmnt management type
Year Planted year in which the crop was planted
Leaching Crop crop associated with the leachate volume and NO3 value
Sample Date date lysimeter was sampled
Leachate volume of leachate (water) ml
NO3 inorganic NO3-N µg/kg
Comments any comments pertinent for each plot
Protocols

Data Excerpt

year plot rep cover mgmnt year_planted leaching_crop sample_date leachate no3 comments
1993 420 4 no cover conventional 1993 2nd yr corn 1993-09-22 00:00:00 UTC 0.0
1993 102 1 no cover conventional 1993 cont. corn 1993-10-26 00:00:00 UTC 0.0
1993 103 1 no cover conventional 1993 2nd yr corn 1993-10-26 00:00:00 UTC 50.0 101.43
1993 106A 1 cover integrated fertilizer 1993 2nd yr corn 1993-10-26 00:00:00 UTC 1300.0 38.66
1993 107A 1 cover integrated fertilizer 1993 soybean 1993-10-26 00:00:00 UTC 750.0 44.78
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