an introduction to the rothamsted long term experiments · 2018. 11. 21. · the classical...
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An Introduction to the Rothamsted Long‐term Experiments
Dr Andy MacdonaldSAS Department
21‐23 MAY 2018INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCEThe Future of Long‐Term Experiments in Agricultural
Science
Earliest Rothamstedexperiment started 1843
Sir John Bennet Lawes
Sir Joseph Henry Gilbert
The History of Rothamsted
The Rothamsted Long‐term Experiments (LTEs)
The Classical Experiments:•Broadbalk Wheat Experiment (1843)•Park Grass Hay (1856)•Hoos Barley (1852)•The Exhaustion Land (1856)•Garden Clover (1854) •Broadbalk Wilderness (1882)•Geescroft Wilderness (1886)
•The Alternate Wheat and Fallow (1851) – modified 2015•Barnfield (1843‐1994) – mothballed since 2001•Agdell (1848‐1990) – discontinued
Other LTE’s:•The Woburn Ley‐Arable (1938)•Highfield Ley‐Arable (1948) •Fosters Ley‐Arable (1948)•Highfield Permanent Bare Fallow (1959)•Woburn Market Garden (1942)•Woburn Organic Manuring (1964)
•Rothamsted and Woburn Straw Incorporation experiments (1987) ‐ discontinued•Rothamsted and Woburn Continuous Maize Experiments (1997) ‐ discontinued
Broadbalk
1926: Plots split into 5 sections – to introduce fallowing for weed control
1968: Plots split into 10 sections• Crop rotations (W,W,O,W,Be since 2018)• New shorter wheat varieties • Higher N rates • Herbicides and fungicides •Straw incorporation (section 0, since 1986)
1843 – 1926: Single plots comparingN, P, K fertilizers and organic manures.
2001: N Split on some plotsP Withheld on some plotsS Withheld on plot 14
Broadbalk: fertiliser and manure applications
ControlPKPK+48kgN
PK+96kgN
FYM35 t/ha/y
+ extra NPK+144kgN
Arable cropping for many centuries; experiment started in 1843
Hoosfield Spring Barley Treatments
Nil (P) K(Mg) (P)K(Mg) Ashes (1852‐1932)
Silicate Test Plots Since 1862
O
A
AA
C P Test Plots Since 2003
FYM (1852‐71)
FYM (1852‐)
FYM (2001‐)
P2KMg(2001‐)
Park Grass Experiment, started 1856
Fertiliser treatments Lime
Sampling & Analyses
●Yield – Grain & Straw (selected plots), herbage
●Grain Quality – TGW, HLW, HFN.
●Plant analyses (selected plots) – Total N, Majors (P, K, Ca, Na, Mg, S), botanical surveys.
●Regular soil sampling & analyses ‐ Total N & C, Exchangeable Cations (K, Mg, Ca, Na), Olsen P, pH, CaCO3.
The Rothamsted Sample Archive
The archive contains about 300,000 grain, straw, herbage, soil, fertilizer and manure samples, some dating back to 1843.
The electronic Rothamsted Archive The e‐RA database contains data on crop yield, soils, species diversity and weather relating to Rothamsted and the Long‐term Experiments:
●Broadbalk (from 1844) ●Park Grass (from 1856)●Hoosfield Barley (from 1852)●The Alternate Wheat and Fallow (from 1856)●Meteorological data for Rothamsted (from 1853), Woburn (from 1928) and Brooms Barn (from 1982)
The e‐RA website includes:●A comprehensive searchable bibliography – >1000 publications. ●Extensive background information – cropping plans, fertilizer rates, etc●Case studies – examples of recent uses of the LTE data●Dedicated schools webpage with access to selected Rothamsted met data● Open Access data, including:‐
— Broadbalk Yields — Broadbalk Soil Organic Carbon— Park Grass Species Diversity — Hoosfield Soil Organic Carbon— Annual mean Rothamsted temperature
Future developments – inclusion of crop nutrient uptake and access to scanned documents and data via DOIs. Press releases and announcements via Twitter.
www.era.rothamsted.ac.uk or contact [email protected].
Broadbalk: Mean yields of wheat grain and changes in husbandry (1852‐2016)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
Grain, t ha‐
1at 85%
DM
Year and cultivar
Continuous wheat, unfertilised
Continuous wheat, FYM
Continuous wheat, PKMg+144kgN
1st wheat, FYM+96kgN (+144kgN since 2005)
1st wheat, largest yield with PKMg + N (max 288kgN)
FallowingLiming
Herbicides
Fungicides
Red Rostock Red Club Sq. Master Red Sq. MasterCappelle D.
Flanders ApolloHerewardBrimstone
1st wheatin rotation
Continuouswheat
Modern cultivars
Crusoe
Mean Yield Comparison of Hereward (2009‐12) v Crusoe (2013‐17) on Broadbalk.
Hereward Crusoe1st Wheat
2nd Wheat3rd WheatCont Wheat
(P, K, Mg & N, P, K, Mg plots only)
Broadbalk Wheat Grain Yield v %N – Hereward and Crusoe (2014, 16 & 17)
Envelope encompassing yields and %N of wheat at Rothamsted in the 1954‐73
Broadbalk Grain Yields (cv Hereward) ‐ single N vs split N (2002‐2011)
AL827059 ammonium transporter AL825256 aminoacylase (peptidase)AL818114 alanine aminotransferase 2AL827303 amino acid transporter AL812725 alanine aminotransferase 2 AL825698 ammonium transporter 1-1AL812271 aspartate aminotransferaseAL822169 amino acid transporter AL825459 nitrate reductaseAL825195 high affinity nitrate transporter (NRT2.1)AL827329 ionotropic glutamate receptor (GLR)AL827978 glutamate/ornithine acetyltransferaseAL811704 amino acid permease AAP4AL827725 histidine kinase (nitrogen fixation sensor) AL827652 nitrate reductaseAL825261 low affinity nitrate transporter (NRT1)AL817581 glutamine synthetase root isozyme 2AL817520 aspartyl methyltransferaseAL825719 glutamine synthetase root isozyme GLN1AL825153 glutamine-dependent asparagine synthetase1AL821146 cationic amino acid transporter (CAT1)AL809150 nitrilase-like proteinAL808540 nitrilase-like protein
N0 N N N4 N6 FYM FYM1:2:1 +N2
Nitr
ogen
met
abol
ism
gen
es
Wheat post‐anthesis endosperm transcriptome: nitrogen metabolism related genes
Lu et al., 2005. Markedly different gene expression in wheat grown with organic or inorganic fertilizer. Proc Royal Society Series B 272, 1901‐1908.
Around 50% of represented N‐metabolism genes fall into this group
Antibiotic resistance genes in Broadbalk soils
Control FYM
Abu
ndan
ce o
f AR
Gs
(cop
y nu
mbe
r / g
dry
soi
l)
0
1e+8
2e+8
3e+8
4e+8
5e+8
6e+8P=0.004, t test
FYM applications:• introduced new types of
ARGs into the soil (A)• Increased the abundances
of several indigenous ARGs in the soil (B).
6.9 fold
Abundance
S McGrath & F Zhao
Hoosfield: Mean yields of Spring Barley and changes in husbandry (1852‐2015)
Spring Barley Mean Grain Yields 2008‐15 (cv Tipple)
Hoosfield Barley – Soil C mapping
Rothamsted Ley‐arable Experiment: Effects of changing Land Use on Soil Organic C.
Changes in species numbers on Park Grass 1864‐2011
Effects of resource inputs on Plant Species Genome Size (1C) on Park Grass
Guignard et al 2016 New Phytologist. doi:10.111/nph.13881– Queen Mary UOL & RBG Kew.
Detecting Changes in Water use Efficiency on Park Grass using Herbage 13C Analyses
Kohler et al (2012) Global Change Biology, 18, 3367‐3376 – Technical University of Munich
a
i13
cca)(ba∆
atm13plant13atm13
13
C 1C - C∆
Changes in Annual Mean air Temperature at Rothamsted 1878‐2016
Future Outlook
• The full effects of global climate change on the sustainability of agro‐ecosystems will take many years to become apparent.
• It is only by using long‐term experiments that we will be able to identify, and hopefully, mitigate against any adverse effects.
• The Rothamsted Long‐term Experiments have provided extremely valuable agro‐ecological information in the past and continue to do so for today's scientists.
• Providing they are well maintained and used in conjunction with new ideas and techniques they will continue to provide valuable information for future generations.
• Increasingly, the need for the development of a global network of LTEs encompassing a wider range of cropping systems and climatic regions, is becoming apparent.
Acknowledgements
● SAS – Tony Scott, Steve Freeman, Chris Hall, Andy Gregory, Kevin Coleman, Paul Poulton, Johnny Johnston, David Powlson, David Jenkinson, John Storkey, Ian Shield and others.
● CAS (e‐RA) – Margaret Glendining, Sarah Perryman, Richard Ostler, Suzanne Clark & Nathalie Castells.
● CAS (Analytical) – Wendy Wilmer, Ruth Skilton and others.● FARM – Stephen Goward, Tim Hall, Mark Gardner, Chris
Mackay, Nick Chichester‐Miles and others.● BCP – Bart Fraaije & Nichola Hawkins● The many scientific and support staff of past generations.
22‐24 JUNE 2018ROTHAMSTED FESTIVAL OF
IDEAS
Thank you for your attention!