Glen Innes Rotation Experiment, Long Term Soil Organic Matter Study, Australia

This study was initiated in 1921 in cool temperate region. the soil
is described as Prairie - Australian Great Soil Group (ref Stace HCT,
Hubble GD, Brewer R, Northcote KH, Sleeman JR, Mulcahy MJ and Hallsworth
EG (1968) A handbook of Australian Soil. Rellim Technical Publications,
Glenside, South Australia. The land use and treatments in this
experiment are as follows:

2 year rotation maize-forage spring sown oats (M,sO); 3year rotation
maize, forage spring oats, red clover (M,sO,C), 3 year rotation
maize, maize, spring oats (M,M, sO); 4 year rotation maize, maize,
spring oats, red clover (M, M, sO, C), 3 year rotation maize, spring
oats, autumn oats (M, sO, aO); 4 year rotation M, sO, aO, C; 4 year
rotation M, sO, C, aO. 50kgN/ha inorganic fertilizer applied
annually to half of plots since 1985

Soil sampling

Time zero soil measurements taken. An attempt has been made to
obtain a similar virgin soil by sampling soil from the trial
fence-line boundary. This sample has been stored; sampling depth
0-15cm, measurements: OC%, total N%, P, mineral N (NO3 and NH4), pH,
EC, Mg, Ca, K, Na

Details of soil sampling method: A soil corer for
0-15cm sampling made of steel & cylindrical in shape which takes a
core of ca. 3cm diameter is used for surface soil coring. Typically
8-10 samples are taken over half of a rotation treatment plot (5x70m),
and bulked. The plots have been split for nitrogen fertilizer
application and so this is the reason why half of the rotation plot is
the basic sampling area. Occasionally deep soil cores are collected
using a pneumatic coring rig. Depending on soil depth this rig can
core to 135-140cm or ca. 85 cm. Four core diameters are used with this
rig, the diameter which is chosen is dependent upon the ease with
which the soil core can be extracted from the coring tube. Diameters
are 5cm, 2.5cm and 2.2cm. Between 2-4 cores are commonly extracted
when deep coring across 1 half of a plot. Soil is separated into
layers.

Details of measuring depths and soil layers: As stated due to soil
depth variation across site, the depth to which coring is possible
varies. There has been a range of different core depth segments
collected on different occasions, e.g. May 1997 0-15, 70-80, 100-110,
130-135; October 1997 - 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, 80-100, 100-120,
120-140. Deep coring has only occurred infrequently (no more than 4
times) over the entire trial duration over all the plots in the trial.

Nearest meteorological station to the site: Glen Innes Agricultural
Research & Advisory Station which is 1 km from the site at coordinates
151 degrees 42 mins E, 29 degrees 42 mins S The meteorological station
is manual.

All variables measured are listed in the parameters section of this record.

This information was compiled for the GCTE-SOMNET Database, Pete
Smith, Pete Falloon, David Powlson, and Jo Smith. Soil Science
Department, IACR-Rothamsted, UK.