Living Field Laboratory
- Objective
- The Living Field Lab (LFL) Study was initiated in 1993 to extend basic findings from the LTER Main Cropping System Experiment to a more prescriptive setting that could better inform farmers and extension educators. Two integrated systems that include legume cover crops and composted dairy manure are compared to conventional and organic systems
- Description
- Temperate rain-fed field crop experiment factorial design
- Data Access Statement
- Available online with registration
- Data Access Notes
- freely available online but account registration required first
- Data license
- Don't know
- Data URL
- https://lter.kbs.msu.edu/datatables
- Data policy
- https://lter.kbs.msu.edu/data/terms-of-use/
- Organizations
- Michigan State Universityresearch organisationKellogg Biological Stationexperimental research station
- Person
- Prof Sieglinde Snaapprincipal investigatorKellogg Biological Station, Michigan State UniversityDepartment of Plant, Soil & Microbial Sciences
Site: Living Field Laboratory
- Type
- research station field
- Local code
- LFL
- Location
- Kellogg Biological StationMichiganUSA
- Geographic location
- 42.410825, -85.3749977
- Elevation
- 288 Metres
- Visits permitted?
- No
- Soil type
- acrisol
- Soil description
- USDA soil taxonomy: Alfisols, and more specifically: Typic Hapludalfs
- Climatic type
- warm humid continental climate
- Climate properties
Variable Time period Value (range) Units air temperature 10.1 degree Celsius precipitation 1000 millimeter
Design period: Main period (1993—2013)
- Description
- A unique aspect of this rain-fed field crop experiment is the factorial nature allows elucidation of winter cover vs organic vs inorganic inputs
- Design description
- 48 treatments 5.4 x 15 m https://lter.kbs.msu.edu/research/long-term-experiments/living-field-lab/
- Number of blocks
- 4
- Number of plots
- 4
- Number of subplots
- 5
- Number of replicates
- 4
- Number of harvests per year
- 1
- Crops
Crop Years grown maize 1993— wheat 1993— soybeans 1993— alfalfa 1993— spelt 1993— Populus - Crop Rotations
- maize-soybean-wheat 1993—1996
- 1maize
- 2soybeans
- 3wheat
maize-soybean 2006—2007- 1maize
- 2soybeans
maize monoculture 1993—1993- 1maize
spelt monoculture 1993—1993- 1spelt
alfalfa monoculture 1993—1993- 1alfalfa
perennial grain monoculture 1993—1993- 1Populus
- Factors
- Factor name
- Factor levels
- crop management Plot application: Whole plot
conventional system
Application frequency: annuallyconventional (CO-): maize monoculture (100 kg N ha-1) vs crop rotation I (maize-soybean-wheat) vs crop rotation II (maize-soybean)integrated systems (100 kg/ha)
Applied to crop: maizeChemical form: ammonium nitrateconventional (CO-): crop rotationinorganic fertilizers (75 kg/ha)
Applied to crop: wheatChemical form: ammonium nitratemaize-soybeanmonoculture
corn- natural fertilizer exposure integrated comparison: dairy manure applied before cereal + winter cover crop (red clover or rye cereal)Plot application: Sub plot
farmyard manure (0 N kg/ha)
Applied to crop: All cropsfarmyard manure (120 N kg/ha)
Applied to crop: All crops- cover cropping integrated fertilizer with cover corp vs without cover cropPlot application: Sub plot
cover cropping (no )
cover cropping (yes )
- Measurements
Variable Material Units Frequency Scale Comment grain yield trait All crops annual grain quality traits All crops occasionally soil total carbon Not specified occasionally