Highfield Ley Arable

  • Experiment Code: R/RN/1
  • Experiment Site: Rothamsted
  • Objectives: To study the effects of various three-year leys on the fertility of the soil as measured by a sequence of three arable test crops.
  • Description: The site was originally permanent grassland since 1838 (>100 years). The experiment started with being sown in 1948 and the first harvest year was 1949. Some plots stayed in permanent grass, others went into continuous arable cropping and some alternated between leys and arable. Yields are no longer measured but SOM continues to be measured. Available P and K in soil have been measured periodically. The main comparisons have been of four rotations, each of six years duration. The arable with lay rotation includes a one-year ley cut for hay. The other three have had three-year leys of different species and different management, followed by three arable crops and are referred to as 'test crops'. Highfield Ley Arable runs in contrast to Fosters Ley Arable which has the same soil type but a different cropping history (having been in continuous cropping for several centuries).
  • Date Start: 1948
  • Date End: Ongoing

Key Contacts

  • Andy Gregory

  • Role: Principal Investigator
  • 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

  • Sarah Perryman

  • Role: Data Manager
  • 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)).

Keywords

  • arable farming, arable soils, bacterial genomes, bare fallow, barley, crop rotation, cropping system, ecological metagenomes, experimental design, fosters ley-arable rotation experiment, functional genomics, hay, highfield bare fallow experiment, highfield ley-arable rotation experiment, ley farming, leys, long term experiments, microbial ecology, nitrogen, nitrogen content, oats, pathogenic fungi, permanent grassland, phosphorous, potatoes, rothamsted research, soil, soil biology, soil microbiome, soil microorganisms, soil organic carbon, soil organic matter, soil ph, sown pastures, sugarbeet, wheat

Experimental Design

Description

  • Plots of four rotations with reseeded grass and permanent grass were laid down in randomised blocks of five or six plots each. There were 12 blocks, two in each phase of a six-year cycle. The whole experiment was started over three seasons 1949, 1950 and 1951 and blocks due to start in 1952, 1953 and 1954 started three years earlier with 'dummy' test crops. Each plot was 0.088 acre.

Design

  • Period: 1949 - 1954
  • Experiment Design Type: Replicated control design

Crops

Crop Years Grown
Alfalfa
Grass Leys
Wheat
Potatoes
Barley

Crop Rotations

Rotation Crops
Lucerne ( - )
Grazed ley ( - )
Cut grass ( - )
Arable with hay ( - )

Measurements

Variable Unit Collection
Frequency		 Material Description Crop
Soil Total Carbon
Plant Available Phosphorous
Plant Available Potassium
Yield Components

Description

  • Various changes were made in this period; Spring oats were introduced instead of barley as the third treatment crop of the 'arable with hay' rotation in order to lessen risk of infection of wheat by take-all or eyespot diseases. Dressings of fertiliser K were applied before the first treatment crops were sown and to the R and G plots. This was because soil and plant analyses had shown plots growing hay, cut grass and lucerne lost more K than grazed plots, which would affect the yield of test crops. Plots were further split to measure potash and phosphate responses in test-crop potatoes that followed different leys. From 1958, the standard applications of P and K were revised and corrective dressing applied.

Design

  • Period: 1955 - 1960
  • Experiment Design Type: Replicated control design

Crops

Crop Years Grown
Alfalfa
Grass Leys
Wheat
Potatoes
Oats

Measurements

Variable Unit Collection
Frequency		 Material Description Crop
Soil Total Carbon
Plant Available Phosphorous
Plant Available Potassium
Yield Components

Description

  • Various changes were made during this period; Sugar beet replaced potatoes as the second treatment crop of the 'arable with hay' rotation. The test of FYM to second treatment crop was omitted from 1961 (to minimise soil born pathogens such as cyst-nematodes). All sub-plot tests of manures to treatment crops were discontinued to allow more elaborate tests on the test-crops; wheat and barley received N at four rates. From 1962, no more plots were sown to 'grazed ley' or 'cut grass'. Instead two new three-year rotations were introduced: i. All-grass receiving fertiliser ii. Clover-grass receiving no fertiliser. From 1962 FYM was ploughed in (previously applied in furrows before planting). From 1962 potatoes were planted by machine. From 1963 certain plots of reseeded grass were ploughed up and put into test-crop sequence and then into 'arable with hay' treatment-crops.

Design

  • Period: 1961 - 1967

Crops

Crop Years Grown
Grass Leys
Grass Clover Leys
Wheat
Sugar Beet
Oats

Measurements

Variable Unit Collection
Frequency		 Material Description Crop
Soil Total Carbon
Plant Available Phosphorous
Default Title plant available potassium
Yield Components

Description

  • Two phases were maintained to study the effects of treatments on changes in soil organic matter. In one of these, the reseeded plots ploughed up in 1964 were sown down again in 1973 to restore the original pattern. The other four phases the normal test crop sequence was followed by continuous wheat cropping to study soil-borne diseases.

Design

  • Period: 1968 - Now

Crops

Crop Years Grown
Alfalfa
Grass Leys
Grass Clover Leys
Reseeded Grass
Wheat
Sugar Beet
Oats
Potatoes
Barley
Feed Grasses

Measurements

Variable Unit Collection
Frequency		 Material Description Crop
Soil Total Carbon
Plant Available Phosphorous
Plant Available Potassium
Yield Components

Site: Highfield Ley Arable - Rothamsted

  • Experiment Site: Rothamsted
  • Description: The site was originally permanent grassland since 1838 (>100 years).
  • Management: Ploughing: At the start of the experiment ploughing was shallow, not more than 15cm deep but the depth was gradually increased to 23 cm as more powerful tractors were introduced. Liming: Lime has been applied as required since 1958. Ley management - permanent and re-seeded grass: Two-years sheep grazing followed by one-years hay 1949-57. Since 1958 grazing discontinued, cut repeatedly at early silage stage. Since 1991 grass leys were cut for hay in mid-summer; the hay was baled and removed.
  • Visit Permitted?: Yes
  • Visiting Arrangments: By arrangement with Dr Andy Gregory, LTE Manager.
  • Elevation: 130 Metres
  • Geolocation:    51.802777, -0.366025

Soil

  • Type: Luvisol
    Batcombe series flinty silt or loam over clay-with-flints.

Datasets available

Title (hover for a longer description) Year of Publication Identifier Version

Experiment details

Highfield Ley-arable Experiment cropping sequence 1949-2023 2023 https://doi.org/10.23637/rrn1-HLAcrop4923-01
 01

Soil data

Rothamsted Ley Arable Soil Organic Carbon 1948-2008: Highfield 2018 https://doi.org/10.23637/KeyRefOARLAsoc
 01
Highfield Ley-arable experiment soil chemical properties 1948-2014 2023 https://doi.org/10.23637/rrn1-HLAsoc4814-01
 01
Highfield Ley Arable - Metagenomic Study 2021 rrn1/01-METAGEN - PRJEB43407
 01
.

License

Creative Commons License These media (images and videos) are available under a Creative Commons Attribution Licence (4.0) with attribution to Rothamsted Research.

Images

Highfield aerial photo with blocks pre- and post- 1968 indicatedHighfield aerial photo with blocks pre- and post- 1968 indicated eRA Curator

Metagenomic study

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New Data from old samples

story about the genomic information from Andy Neal

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Plans, treatment details for the Highfield ley-arable experiment

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Plans and treatments

  • Highfield Ley Arable supplementary information 1949 onwards: https://doi.org/10.23637/rrn1-HLAsuppinfo-01 Published as a pdf. Including:
  • Cropping systems treatment codes and test crop summary
  • Field plans, 1949-1967 (blocks 1-12)
  • Field plans 1968 onwards (blocks 1-4 only)
  • Grass and grass/clover seed mixtures, 1949-1990

Key References

2023

  • Blyth, F.J.E. , Perryman, S.A.M. and Glendining, M.J.(2023) "Fosters Ley Arable cropping systems supplementary information 1949 onwards"
    DOI: 10.23637/rrn2-FLAsuppinfo-01
  • Blyth, F.J.E. , Perryman, S.A.M. and Glendining, M.J.(2023) "HIghfield Ley Arable cropping systems supplementary information 1949 onwards"
    DOI: 10.23637/rrn1-HLAsuppinfo-01
  • Blyth, F.J.E. , Perryman, S.A.M. , Poulton, P.R. , Glendining, M.J. and Gregory, A.S.(2023) "Fosters Ley-arable experiment soil organic carbon 1948-2014", Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK.
    DOI: 10.23637/rrn2-FLAsoc5014-01
  • Blyth, F.J.E. , Perryman, S.A.M. , Poulton, P.R. , Glendining, M.J. and Gregory, A.S.(2023) "Highfield Ley-arable experiment soil organic carbon 1948-2014", Electronic Rothamsted Archive, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK
    DOI: 10.23637/rrn1-HLAsoc4814-01

2017

  • Jensen, J.L. , Schjonning, P. , Watts, C.W. , Christensen, B.T. and Munkholm, L.J.(2017) "Soil texture analysis revisited: Removal of organic matter matters more than ever", PLOS ONE, 12, e0178039
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178039

2016

  • Gregory, A.S. , Dungait, J.A.J. , Watts, C.W. , Bol, R. , Dixon, E.R. , White, R.P. and Whitmore, A.P.(2016) "Long-term management changes topsoil and subsoil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in a temperate agricultural system", European Journal of Soil Science, 67, 421-430
    DOI: 10.1111/ejss.12359

2009

  • Hirsch, P.R. , Gilliam, L.M. , Sohi, S.P. , Williams, J.K. , Clark, I.M. and Murray, P.J.(2009) "Starving the soil of plant inputs for 50 years reduces abundance but not diversity of soil bacterial communities", Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 41, 2021-2024
    DOI: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.07.011
  • 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

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", Rothamsted Experimental Station, Report for 1972 , Part 2 , 131-159
    Get from eRAdoc: ResReport1972p2-131-159

1949

1885

  • Lawes, J.B. and Gilbert, J.H.(1885) "On some points in the composition of soils; with results illustrating the sources of the fertility of Manitoba Prairie soils", Journal of the Chemical Society, 47, 380-422 (Series 1/67)
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For further information and assistance, please contact the e-RA curators, Sarah Perryman and Margaret Glendining using the e-RA email address: era@rothamsted.ac.uk