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The Continuing Value of Long-Term Field Experiments: Insights for Achieving Food Security and Environmental Integrity

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Soil as World Heritage

Abstract

Long-term experiments are one vital tool for studying the impacts of agricultural management practices on soil properties and crop production; however, they have several limitations that must be recognized. Such experiments are resources for research – not museum exhibits that can never be altered. For example, in the Broadbalk Wheat Experiment (started 1843), the original large plots have been split so that additional cropping systems can be studied, in particular wheat grown in a crop rotation in addition to the original monoculture.

A key finding from all long-term experiments is that soil organic carbon (SOC) content tends to move from one quasi-equilibrium value to another under the influence of changes in management; it does not increase or decrease indefinitely. Compared to unfertilized plots, application of manure caused a large increase in SOC, whereas N fertilizer caused a small increase. Measurements made on the Broadbalk Experiment show that a small change in SOC content can have a disproportionately large impact on a range of soil physical properties.

Long-term experiments are valuable for investigating the range of chemical structures within SOC and their distribution between physically separated fractions. Other recent uses include studies on the microbial oxidation of methane and reduction of nitrate in soil, soil biodiversity, and losses of nitrate and phosphate to streams and groundwater.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The grass strips are maintained for the duration of a 4-year rotation.

  2. 2.

    Olsen’s reagent, which is commonly used in advisory work in the UK and many other countries.

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Acknowledgements

Rothamsted Research receives grant aid from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. Some of the work reported was funded by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK

    D. S. Powlson, A. J. MacDonald & P. R. Poulton

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  1. D. S. Powlson
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  2. A. J. MacDonald
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  3. P. R. Poulton
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Correspondence to D. S. Powlson .

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  1. Chestnut Tree Farmhouse, Norfolk, United Kingdom

    David Dent

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Powlson, D.S., MacDonald, A.J., Poulton, P.R. (2014). The Continuing Value of Long-Term Field Experiments: Insights for Achieving Food Security and Environmental Integrity. In: Dent, D. (eds) Soil as World Heritage. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6187-2_16

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