Initiated in 1970, this dataset records a long-term agricultural experiment on cut grassland in Northern Ireland, measuring the effects of varying application rates of pig and cow slurry on soil and vegetation. The experiment includes detailed annual measurements of soil properties like total carbon and vegetation yield, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other nutrient offtakes. It was contributed by the organization SCIOPS to the NASA Earthdata platform.
Use Cases
- Model soil organic carbon changes over time using the annually recorded total carbon measurements from 1971-1977 and 1980.
- Analyze the relationship between slurry application rates (50, 100, 200 m3/ha/y) and vegetation nutrient offtake for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and trace elements.
- Compare the effects of pig slurry versus cow slurry treatments on grassland yield, measured three times per year.
- Study soil profile changes by analyzing composite samples taken from specific depths (0-5cm, 5-10cm, 10-15cm).
Strengths
- Long-term temporal coverage starting from the experiment's initiation in 1970.
- Includes multiple treatment levels for both pig and cow slurry application rates (50, 100, 200 m3/ha/y).
- Provides detailed soil characterization including horizon descriptions and climatic conditions (5.5-12 deg C, 872.5 mm rainfall).
Limitations
- The exact row count and full temporal extent of measurements after 1980 are unknown.
- Soil measurements like total carbon have gaps in the recorded annual frequency (e.g., missing data for 1978-1979).
- Initial site variability assessment in 1969 was a crude quadrant sampling not analyzed statistically.
Provenance
- Source
- SCIOPS, via NASA Earthdata (nasa_earthdata).
- Collection Method
- Controlled field experiment with randomized plot sampling; soil cores taken with a half corer auger and vegetation cuts collected three times per year.
- Time Range
- Experiment initiated in 1970, with measurements recorded from at least 1971 onward.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- A single experimental site in Northern Ireland, originally temperate deciduous woodland, on clay loam soil.