Why do we make changes to the long-term experiments at Rothamsted?

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Poulton, P. R., Powlson, D. S., Glendining, M. J. and Gregory, A. S. 2024. Why do we make changes to the long-term experiments at Rothamsted? European Journal of Agronomy. 154 (March), p. 127062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2023.127062

AuthorsPoulton, P. R., Powlson, D. S., Glendining, M. J. and Gregory, A. S.
Abstract

The long-term field experiments at Rothamsted in south-east England (UK) are an important resource that has been used extensively to study the effects of land management, atmospheric pollution and climate change on soil fertility and the sustainability of crop yields. However, for these and other long-term experiments around the world to remain useful, changes are sometimes needed. These changes may be required to ensure that the experiment is not compromised by e.g. acidification or weeds, but often they are needed to ensure that the experiment remains relevant to current agricultural practice, e.g. the introduction of new cultivars and the judicious use of pesticides. However, changes should not be made just for the sake of change or to investigate aspects of management that could be better resolved in a short-term experiment. Rather, modifications should only be made after carefully considered discussion, involving scientists from different disciplines. It must be remembered however that there are limitations to what can be achieved in one experiment. In this paper we give examples of why certain changes were made to the Rothamsted experiments and what the results of those changes have been. We also highlight the value of archiving crop and soil samples for future studies.

KeywordsLong-term experiments; Essential/planned change; Nutreient /crop management; Acidification; Soil organic matter; Heavy metals; Archived samples
Year of Publication2024
JournalEuropean Journal of Agronomy
Journal citation154 (March), p. 127062
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2023.127062
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeBBSRC National Bioscience Research Infrastructure: Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments
S2N - Soil to Nutrition [ISPG]
Publisher's version
Supplemental file
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online05 Jan 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted16 Dec 2023
ISSN1161-0301
PublisherElsevier

Permalink - https://repository.rothamsted.ac.uk/item/98z30/why-do-we-make-changes-to-the-long-term-experiments-at-rothamsted

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