Annual Crops and Alfalfa/Switchgrass Biomass — Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE)
Data in the KBS LTER core database may not be published without written permission of the lead investigator or project director Full terms of use
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.
This datatable is part of the Primary Production of Herbaceous Systems of the Main Cropping System Experiment dataset.
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.
Note
| Experiment: | Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE) |
| Data available from: | May 1990 to September 2025 |
| Dataset: | KBS019 |
| Datatable ID: | KBS019-003.169 |
| Core Areas | Primary Production,Disturbance |
| Repository link: | http://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/f9b2a038b8a7ad43a252587a84935f30 |
| Related Tables: |
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| Personnel: |
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| Last Updated | 2026-03-24 |
| Variate | Description | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Year | year of the growing season relevant for the sample | |
| Campaign | a major multi-year research activity with a discreet purpose | |
| Date | date on which sampling occured | |
| Treatment | main experimental treatment | |
| Replicate | replicate block, nested within treatment | |
| Station | replicate station, nested within block | |
| Species | crop species collected | |
| Fraction | a specified component of total plant (or sample) biomass | |
| Biomass | g/m2 |
Data Excerpt
| year | campaign | date | treatment | replicate | station | species | fraction | biomass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Peak Biomass | 2025-09-16 | T6 | R6 | S1 | Panicum virgatum L. | WHOLE | 1049.94 |
| 2025 | Peak Biomass | 2025-09-16 | T6 | R5 | S2 | Panicum virgatum L. | WHOLE | 1120.87 |
| 2025 | Peak Biomass | 2025-09-16 | T6 | R5 | S3 | Panicum virgatum L. | WHOLE | 900.9000000000001 |
| 2025 | Peak Biomass | 2025-09-16 | T6 | R5 | S4 | Panicum virgatum L. | WHOLE | 1163.1100000000001 |
| 2025 | Peak Biomass | 2025-09-16 | T6 | R6 | S5 | Panicum virgatum L. | WHOLE | 1229.42 |