Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 6.1. Description of the KBS LTER Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE).
a
Cropping System/Community
Dominant Growth Form
Management
Annual Cropping Systems
Conventional (T1)
Herbaceous annual
Prevailing norm for tilled corn-soybean-
winter wheat (c-s-w) rotation; standard
chemical inputs, chisel-plowed, no cover
crops, no manure or compost
No-till (T2)
Herbaceous annual
Prevailing norm for no-till c-s-w rotation;
standard chemical inputs, permanent
no-till, no cover crops, no manure or
compost
Reduced Input (T3)
Herbaceous annual
Biologically based c-s-w rotation
managed to reduce synthetic chemical
inputs; chisel-plowed, winter cover crop
of red clover or annual rye, no manure or
compost
Biologically Based (T4)
Herbaceous annual
Biologically based c-s-w rotation
managed without synthetic chemical
inputs; chisel-plowed, mechanical weed
control, winter cover crop of red clover
or annual rye, no manure or compost;
certified organic
Perennial Cropping Systems
Alfalfa (T6)
Herbaceous perennial
5- to 6-year rotation with winter wheat as a
1-year break crop
Poplar (T5)
Woody perennial
Hybrid poplar trees on a ca. 10-year
harvest cycle, either replanted or coppiced
after harvest
Coniferous Forest (CF)
Woody perennial
Planted conifers periodically thinned
Successional and Reference Communities
Early Successional (T7)
Herbaceous perennial
Historically tilled cropland abandoned in
1988; unmanaged but for annual spring
burn to control woody species
Mown Grassland (never tilled)
(T8)
Herbaceous perennial
Cleared woodlot (late 1950s) never tilled,
unmanaged but for annual fall mowing to
control woody species
Mid-successional (SF)
Herbaceous annual +
woody perennial
Historically tilled cropland abandoned
ca. 1955; unmanaged, with regrowth in
transition to forest
Deciduous Forest (DF)
Woody perennial
Late successional native forest never
cleared (two sites) or logged once ca. 1900
(one site); unmanaged
a
Site codes that have been used throughout the project's history are given in parentheses. Systems T1-T7 are
replicated within the LTER main site; others are replicated in the surrounding landscape. For further details, see
Robertson and Hamilton (2015, Chapter 1 in this volume).
