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 University
research organisation
Kellogg Biological Station
experimental research station
Person
Prof Sieglinde Snaap
principal investigator
Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University
Department of Plant, Soil & Microbial Sciences

Site: Living Field Laboratory

Type
research station field
Local code
LFL
Location
Kellogg Biological Station
Michigan
USA
Geographic location
42.410825, -85.3749977
© OpenStreetMap contributors
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
VariableTime periodValue (range)Units
air temperature10.1 degree Celsius
precipitation1000 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
CropYears grown
maize 1993—
wheat 1993—
soybeans 1993—
alfalfa 1993—
spelt 1993—
Populus
Crop Rotations
maize-soybean-wheat  1993—1996
  • 1
    maize
  • 2
    soybeans
  • 3
    wheat
maize-soybean  2006—2007
  • 1
    maize
  • 2
    soybeans
maize monoculture  1993—1993
  • 1
    maize
spelt monoculture  1993—1993
  • 1
    spelt
alfalfa monoculture  1993—1993
  • 1
    alfalfa
perennial grain monoculture  1993—1993
  • 1
    Populus
Factors
Factor name
Factor levels
crop management
Plot application: Whole plot
conventional system
Application frequency: annually
conventional (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: maize
Chemical form: ammonium nitrate
conventional (CO-): crop rotation
inorganic fertilizers  (75 kg/ha)
Applied to crop: wheat
Chemical form: ammonium nitrate
maize-soybean
monoculture
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 crops
farmyard manure  (120 N kg/ha)
Applied to crop: All crops
cover cropping
integrated fertilizer with cover corp vs without cover crop
Plot application: Sub plot
cover cropping  (no )
cover cropping  (yes )
Measurements
VariableMaterialUnitsFrequencyScaleComment
grain yield traitAll cropsannual
grain quality traitsAll cropsoccasionally
soil total carbonNot specifiedoccasionally