The Admont Grassland Experiment

This experiment has been added by the GLTEN Curators using existing published sources.
Objective
Effect of fertilizers on grassland yield and species composition.
Description
The Admont Grassland Experiment in Austria is one such resource for helping further our understanding of the mechanisms and relationships in alluvial meadows under management with long-term fertilizer application. Established in 1946, and still running, it is one of the oldest well-designed long-term experiments with different fertilizer application treatments in Continental Europe.
Data Access Statement
Don't know
Data license
Don't know
Data policy
Don't know
Organization
Agricultural Research & Education Centre Raumberg-Gumpenstein, Austria
maintains the long-term experiment
People

Site: The Admont Grassland Experiment

Location
Admont
Styria
Austria
Geographic location
47.576794, 14.441721
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Visits permitted?
No
History
The experimental field had previously been used for cereal experiments in the 1930s and later reverted to an unsown grassland vegetation. In spring 1946 the field was ploughed and resown (24th May) with a grass-clover mixture.
Soil type
Gleyic Fluvic Dystric Cambisol
Soil properties
VariableDepthValue (range)UnitsRef yearEstimated?Baseline?
soil pH 6.05 1946
P 23 mg per kg-1
K 323 mg per kg-1
Climate properties
VariableTime periodValue (range)Units
long-term average annual precipitation1277 millimeter
long-term mean annual air temperature6.8 millimeter

Design period: (1946—)

Design Type
Randomized complete block design
Description
The Admont Grassland Experiment with 23 treatments and a non-fertilized control was established in four permanent randomized blocks (replications), using rectangular plots of 2.9 m × 7.1 m each with a buffer zone between plots of 17 cm, and 30 cm between blocks. All treatments are cut regularly three times a year ( May, June, September). Cutting is carried out with a finger-bar mower, and the height of cut is about 5 cm above the soil surface. Twenty three different fertilizer treatments with various combinations of N, P and K and non-fertilized control.
Crop
CropYears grown
grass
Factors
Factor name
Factor levels
nitrogen fertilizer exposure
N40  (40 kgN/ha)
N80  (80 kgN/ha)
phosphate fertilizer exposure
P35  (35 kgP/ha)
P17.5  (17.5 kgN/ha)
potassium fertilizer exposure
K50  (50 kgK/ha)
K100  (100 kgK/ha)
calcium nutrient exposure
Ca 923  (923 kg calcium per hectare)
natural fertilizer exposure
farmyard manure  (15 t/ha)
slurry  (40 t/ha)
Factor combinations
1
non fertilized
2
923 Ca kg ha-1 every third year
calcium nutrient exposure: Ca 923
3
35 P kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
4
100 K kg ha-1 per year
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
5
80 N kg ha-1 (40 + 40) per year
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
6
100 K + 80 N kg ha-1 per year
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
7
35 P + 80 N kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
8
35 P + 100 K kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
9
17.5 P + 50 K kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P17.5
potassium fertilizer exposure: K50
10
17.5 P + 50 K + 40 N kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P17.5
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N40
11
35 P + 100 K + 40 N kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N40
12
35 P + 100 K + 80 N kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
13
17.5 P + 50 K + 80 N kg ha-1 per year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P17.5
potassium fertilizer exposure: K50
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
14
35 P + 100 K kg ha-1 per year and 923 Ca every third year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
calcium nutrient exposure: Ca 923
15
35 P + 100 K + 80 N kg ha-1 per year and 923 Ca every third yea
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
calcium nutrient exposure: Ca 923
16
15 t ha-1 stable manure every year
17
15 t ha-1 stable manure every third year
18
15 t ha-1 stable manure one year/ 35 P + 100 K kg ha-1 second year / 35 P + 100 K kg ha-1 third yea
natural fertilizer exposure: farmyard manure
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
19
15 t ha-1 stable manure first year / 35 P + 100 K + 80 N kg ha-1 second year / 35 P + 100 K + 80 N kg ha-1 third year
natural fertilizer exposure: farmyard manure
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
nitrogen fertilizer exposure: N80
20
40 t ha-1 slurry (20 + 20) every year
natural fertilizer exposure: slurry
21
35 P kg ha-1 one year / 40 t ha-1 slurry second year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
natural fertilizer exposure: slurry
22
15 t ha-1 stable manure one year/ 40 t ha-1 slurry second year
natural fertilizer exposure: farmyard manure
natural fertilizer exposure: slurry
23
35 P + 100 K + 923 Ca kg ha-1 first year / 15 t ha-1 stable manure second year/ 35 P + 100 K + 80 N kg ha-1 third year / 40 t ha-1 t slurry fourth year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
calcium nutrient exposure: Ca 923
natural fertilizer exposure: farmyard manure
natural fertilizer exposure: slurry
24
35 P + 100 K + 923 Ca kg ha-1 first year / 15 t ha-1 stable manure + 17.5 P + 50 K kg ha-1 second year/ 17.5 P + 50 K + 40 N kg ha-1 third year
phosphate fertilizer exposure: P35
potassium fertilizer exposure: K100
calcium nutrient exposure: Ca 923
natural fertilizer exposure: farmyard manure
Measurements
VariableMaterialUnitsFrequencyScaleComment
plant species compositionNot specified
dry matter biomass yieldsNot specified
soil chemical propertiesNot specified
sward heightNot specified

Related publications

  • The Admont Grassland Experiment: 70 years of fertilizer application and its effects on soil and vegetation properties in an alluvial meadow managed under a three-cut regime (2022) Pavlu et al. Science of The Total Environment