Woburn Ley Arable
- Experiment Code: W/RN/3
- Experiment Site: Woburn
- Objectives: Effects of continuous arable and ley-arable cropping on crop production, soil organic matter dynamics and fertility in a sandy loam.
- Description: Started in 1938 to compare the effects of rotations with or without grass or grass-clover leys on the yield of two arable test crops. It is now an important resource for investigation of long-term changes in SOM due to different cropping systems. Five year rotation of three years in arable crops or leys (short-term grassland) followed by two years of arable test crops. Total of 40 pairs of plots divided into 5 blocks, phased-in over a five-year period, so the each year of the rotation is present each year.
- Date Start: 1938
- Date End: Ongoing
Key Contacts
Andrew Gregory
- Role: Principal Investigator
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7123-0784
- Organisation: Rothamsted Research
- Address: West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
Margaret Glendining
- Role: Data Manager
- ORCID: 0000-0002-6466-4629
- Organisation: Rothamsted Research
- Address: West Common, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
Funding
- The e-RA database, including the published datasets generated from it, is part of the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments - National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (RLTE-NBRI) , which also includes the Long-Term Experiments, the Sample Archive and Rothamsted's environmental monitoring activities including the weather stations and its role in the UK Environmental Change Network.
- The RLTE-NBRI is supported by the Lawes Agricultural Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Grants BBS/E/C/00005189 (2012-2017); BBS/E/C/000J0300 (2017-2022); BBS/E/RH/23NB0007 (2023-2028)).
Experimental Design
Description
- 40 pairs of main plots in 5 blocks, phased in over a 5 year period. Each block had four different three-year rotations, followed by two arable test crops: in four plots in each block the rotation was repeated every five years (continuous) and in four plots in each block the rotations alternated every five years, on a 20-year cycle of all four arable and ley-arable rotations. The main plots are in pairs, one of each pair received FYM (farmyard manure) applied every fifth year, to the first test crop, 1941-1967 (the split plots).
Design
- Period: 1938 - 1972
- Experiment Design Type: Split-plot
- Number of Plots: 8
- Number of Replicates: 5
- Number of Sub-plots:
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Grass Clover Leys | |
| Grass Leys | |
| Potatoes | |
| Sugar Beet | |
| Spring Barley | |
| Winter Wheat | |
| Winter Rye | |
| Kale | |
| One-year Hay | |
| Carrots | |
| Oats | |
| Beans | |
| Lucerne (alfalfa) | |
| Sainfoin |
Crop Rotations
| Rotation | Crops |
|---|---|
| Ar arable with roots (1938 - 1972) | Potatoes > Winter Wheat > Sugar Beet > Potatoes > Spring Barley |
| Ah arable with hay (1938 - 1972) | Potatoes > Winter Wheat > One-year Hay > Potatoes > Spring Barley |
| L grass/cover ley (1938 - 1972) | Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Potatoes > Spring Barley |
| Lu legume ley (1938 - 1972) | Lucerne (alfalfa) > Lucerne (alfalfa) > Lucerne (alfalfa) > Potatoes > Spring Barley |
Factors
Factors are the interventions or treatments which vary across the experiment.
Farmyard Manure Exposure
Description: The main plots are in pairs, one of each pair received FYM (farmyard manure) applied every fifth year, to the first test crop, 1941-1967.
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Measurements
| Variable | Unit | Collection Frequency |
Material | Description | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Crop Yield | t/ha | annual | AllCrops | Test crop yields - potatoes, wheat, barley, sugar beet. | |
| Soil Organic Carbon | every five years | Soil | The soil in each block was sampled regularly every five years from 1955, to coincide with the end of the third treatment year |
Description
- 40 pairs of main plots in 5 blocks, phased in over a 5 year period. Each block had four different three-year rotations, followed by two arable test crops: in four plots in each block the rotation was repeated every five years (continuous) and in four plots in each block the rotations alternated every five years, on a 20-year cycle of all four arable and ley-arable rotations. The main plots are in pairs, one of each pair received FYM (farmyard manure) applied every fifth year, to the first test crop, 1941-1967 (the split plots). The treatments were: AB (all arable rotation); AF (arable rotation with roots or fallow); LN3 (3-year grass ley with fertilizer N); LC3 (3-year legume or grass/clover ley). The alternating rotations were replaced by eight-year grass or grass/clover leys in the mid-1970s: LN8 (8-year grass leys with fertilizer N, followed by two arable test crops); LC8 (8-year grass/clover leys, followed by two arable test crops). The rotations are phased in over a five-year period in the five different blocks, so that each year of the five-year rotation is present each year. The eight-year leys were also phased in, the first cycle starting 1973-77, the second cycle 1978-82. The test crops had four N treatments (split-split plots).
Design
- Period: 1973 - 2007
- Experiment Design Type: Split split plot
- Number of Plots: 8
- Number of Replicates: 5
- Number of Sub-plots:
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Wheat | |
| Spring Barley | |
| Winter Rye | |
| Potatoes | |
| Fallow | |
| Oats | |
| Winter Beans | |
| Carrots | |
| Forage Maize | |
| Grass Clover Leys | |
| Grass Leys | |
| Red Clover |
Crop Rotations
| Rotation | Crops |
|---|---|
| AB/ABe (all arable rotation) (1973 - 2007) | Spring Barley > Spring Barley > Oats > Wheat > Spring Barley |
| AF/AM (all arable rotation with fallow) (1973 - 2007) | Fallow > Fallow > Oats > Wheat > Spring Barley |
| Ln3 (1973 - 2007) | Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Wheat > Spring Barley |
| Lc3 (1973 - 2007) | Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Wheat > Spring Barley |
| Lln8 (1973 - 2007) | Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Grass Leys > Wheat > Spring Barley |
| Llc8 (1973 - 2007) | Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Wheat > Spring Barley |
Factors
Factors are the interventions or treatments which vary across the experiment.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Exposure
Description: 4 levels of N fertilizer applied to wheat and barley/rye test crops. Split-spilt plots
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Potassium Fertilizer Exposure
Description: Corrective K applications to 1st test wheat. 4 levels.
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Split Nitrogen Fertilizer Exposure
Description: Split v single N applications to wheat test crop, tested 2001-2005, split plots. Applied to Farmyard manure residue split plots, last applied in 1960s.
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Residue of Farmyard Manure Exposure
Description: Farmyard manure residue, last applied 1966. Split-plots.
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Measurements
| Variable | Unit | Collection Frequency |
Material | Description | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grain Yield | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | Grain yields for test crops (wheat and spring barley) | wheat |
| Soil Organic Carbon | % | Soil | |||
| Total Soil Nitrogen | % | Soil |
Description
- 40 main plots, divided over five blocks. Half the plots have been in four continuous five-year arable or ley-arable rotations since 1938: three years of treatment crops followed by two arable test crops. The other 20 plots were in alternating rotations from 1938 to the mid-1970s: a 20-year cycle of all four arable and ley-arable rotations. These were replaced by eight-year grass or grass/clover leys from the mid-1970s until 2007. From 2008 all plots were in five-year rotations of three years of treatment crops and two years of test crops.: AO (continuous arable with oats); ABe (continuous arable with beans); Ln3 (three-year grass leys with nitrogen); Lc3 (three-year grass/clover leys). In 2021 winter beans (BE) were replaced with winter barley (WB), and all arable rotations followed the same rotation, R, WB, O, W and R. Rotation ABe became AO in 2021, so there are now one arable rotation and two ley/arable rotations, with different histories.
Design
- Period: 2008 - Now
- Experiment Design Type: Split split plot
- Number of Plots: 8
- Number of Replicates: 5
- Number of Sub-plots:
- Number of Harvests per Year: 1
Crops
| Crop | Years Grown |
|---|---|
| Winter Wheat (w) | |
| Winter Rye (r) | |
| Beans (be) | |
| Winter Oats (o) | |
| Winter Barley (wb) | |
| Grass Leys | |
| Grass Clover Leys |
Crop Rotations
| Rotation | Crops |
|---|---|
| Ln3 (2008 - ) | Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Winter Wheat (w) > Winter Rye (r) |
| Lc3 (2008 - ) | Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Grass Clover Leys > Winter Wheat (w) > Winter Rye (r) |
| (ABe) ABe (2008 - 2020) | Winter Rye (r) > Winter Oats (o) > Beans (be) > Winter Wheat (w) > Winter Rye (r) |
| (AM) AO (2008 - 2020) | Winter Rye (r) > Beans (be) > Winter Oats (o) > Winter Wheat (w) > Winter Rye (r) |
| AO (2021 - ) | Winter Rye (r) > Winter Barley (wb) > Winter Oats (o) > Winter Wheat (w) > Winter Rye (r) |
Factors
Factors are the interventions or treatments which vary across the experiment.
Nitrogen Fertilizer Exposure
Description: 4 rates of N fertilizer applied to test crops Split-spilt plots
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Residue Farmyard Manure Exposure,
Description: Farmyard manure residues, last applied in 1960s, split plots. Used to test split N 2001-2005.
Levels
| Level Name | Amount | Years | Frequency | Crop | Method | Chemical Form | Notes |
|---|
Measurements
| Variable | Unit | Collection Frequency |
Material | Description | Crop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grain Yield Trait | t/ha | annually | SpecifiedCrop | grain yield for test crops (winter wheat and winter rye) | winter wheat (W) |
| Soil Organic Carbon | % | Soil | |||
| Total Soil Nitrogen | % | Soil |
Site: Stackyard - Woburn
- Experiment Site: Woburn
- Description: The experiment started in 1938 on a site that had grown arable crops since at least 1876 and had 0.98% SOC in the topsoil.
- Management: Conventional management, ploughed. There is no irrigation.
- Visit Permitted?: Yes
- Visiting Arrangments: Contact Dr Andrew Gregory
- Elevation: 99 Metres
- Slope: 2
- Geolocation: 51.99906, -0.61673
Soil
Datasets available
| Title (hover for a longer description) | Year of Publication | Identifier | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
Crop yield data - Annual | |||
| Woburn Ley-arable experiment: yields of wheat as first test crop, 1976-2018 | 2022 | 10.23637/wrn3-wheat7618-01 |
01 |
Experiment details | |||
| Woburn Ley-arable experiment cropping sequence 1938-2020 | 2022 | 10.23637/wrn3-cropping1938-2020-02 |
02 |
Soil data | |||
| Woburn Ley-arable experiment soil organic carbon, 1938-2009 | 2022 | 10.23637/wrn3-soc3809-01 |
01 |
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License
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available under a Creative Commons
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Plans, treatments and background
- WLA background The Woburn Ley-arable Experiment, 1938-2020: Its management, the issues and problems that arose, and their resolution to maintain the continuity and relevance of the experiment. Johnston et al, 2022, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK . DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-manag1938-2020-01
- WLA cropping Woburn Ley-arable experiment cropping sequence, 1938-2020. Showing generic plan and arable and ley rotation sequence of all 5 Blocks (I-V), and the different treatment crops. Available as pdf and dataset. DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-cropping1938-2020-02
- WLA fertilizer Woburn Ley-arable experiment fertilizer and lime applications, 1938-2020. Annual fertilizer and lime applications, including basal N, P and K, and corrective K, applied to test and treatment crops. DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-fert1938-2020-01
Key References
2023
- Poulton, P.R. , Johnston, A.E. and White, R.P.(2023) "Response of three cereal crops in continuous arable or ley-arable rotations to fertiliser nitrogen and soil nitrogen at Rothamsted's Woburn Ley-arable experiment", Soil Use and Management, 00, 1-14
DOI: 10.1111/sum.12872
2022
- MacLaren, C., Glendining, M.J., Poulton, P.R., Macdonald, A.J., Clark, S. (2022) "Woburn Ley-arable experiment: yields of wheat as first test crop, 1976-2018", Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, UK, 1.0
DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-wheat7618-01 - Johnston, A.E. , Poulton, P.R. , Macdonald, A.J. and Glendining, M.J.(2022) "The Woburn Ley-arable Experiment, 1938-2020: Its management, the issues and problems that arose, and their resolution to maintain the continuity and relevance of the experiment", Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, UK , , 28
DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-manag1938-2020-01 - Poulton, P.R. , Johnston, A.E. , Macdonald, A.J. and Glendining, M.J.(2022) "Woburn Ley-arable experiment fertilizer and lime applications 1938-2020"
DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-fert1938-2020-01
2021
- Poulton, P.R. , Johnston, A.E. , Macdonald, A.J. and Glendining, M.J.(2021) "Woburn Ley-arable experiment cropping sequence 1938-2020"
DOI: 10.23637/wrn3-cropping1938-2020-01
2018
- Nicholson, F. , Bhogal, A. , Taylor, M. , McGrath, S. and Withers, P.(2018) "Long-term Effects of Biosolids on Soil Quality and Fertility", Soil Science, 183, 89-98
DOI: 10.1097/ss.0000000000000239
2017
- Watts, C.W. , Glendining, M.J. and Castells-Brooke, N.I.D.(2017) "Woburn Experimental Farm Soil and Field Maps"
DOI: 10.23637/ws-soil-maps-01 - Johnston, A.E. , Poulton, P.R. , Coleman, K. , Macdonald, A.J. and White, R.P.(2017) "Changes in soil organic matter over 70 years in continuous arable and ley arable rotations on a sandy loam soil in England", European Journal of Soil Science, 68, 305-316
DOI: 10.1111/ejss.12415
2009
- Johnston, A.E. , Poulton, P.R. and Coleman, K.(2009) "Soil organic matter: its importance in sustainable agriculture and carbon dioxide fluxes", Advances in Agronomy, 101, 1-57
DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2113(08)00801-8
1996
- Poulton, P.R.(1996) "Woburn Ley-Arable. ", Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems, Report No. 7, GCTE Task 3.3.1, Soil Organic Matter Network (SOMNET), 1996 Model and Experimental Metadata (Smith P. , Smith J.U. and Powlson D.S. (eds) - GCTE Focus 3 Office, Wallingford, UK), 154-156
1980
- Catt, J.A. , Weir, A.H. , Norrish, R.E. , Rayner, J.H. , King, D.W. , Hall, D.G.M. and Murphy, C.P.(1980) "The soils of Woburn Experimental Farm. III. Stackyard", Part 2 , 5-39
DOI: 10.23637/ERADOC-1-34287
1973
- Johnston, A.E.(1973) "The effects of ley and arable cropping systems on the amounts of soil organic matter in the Rothamsted and Woburn ley-arable experiment", Part 2 , 131-159
Get from eRAdoc: ResReport1972p2-131-159
1958
- Mann, H.H. and Boyd, D.A.(1958) "Some results of an experiment to compare ley and arable rotations at Woburn", The Journal of Agricultural Science, 50, 297-306
DOI: 10.1017/S002185960003149X
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