Members of the Sustainable Soils group in .

°Õ³ó±ðÌý of last year’s maize harvest on our field trial in Cumbria highlighted the need for early establishment of cover crops to achieve durable cover during the winter months. Mesocosm scale experiments will assess the effect of soil water availability on cover crop ground coverage and rhizosheath development, to identify suitable cover crop combinations. These findings will help develop best management practices for soil growing maize.

Contact:ÌýCristina McBride-Serrano (c.mcbride-serrano@lancaster.ac.uk)

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]]> 1019 https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/sustainable-soils/2021/05/15/setting-up-a-field-experiment-to-assess-the-erosion-control-potential-of-cover-crops/ Sat, 15 May 2021 12:09:50 +0000 https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/sustainable-soils/?p=995 Author: Helena Ripley

My PhD research is focused on the use of cover crops to control soil erosion in hillside orchards in Spain. I am currently working on my third data chapter: a mesocosm trial to assess the effectiveness of different species and mixes to reduce soil loss under overland water flow. This blog will give an overview of the process of starting an experiment.

I started planning the experiment 6 months prior to setting up the site. I looked through literature at experiments that had used similar methods to those I planned to use and thought about what I had available to use and the timeline I wanted to work in.

There were many people to communicate with as I got started, to place orders for boxes, soil and guttering, also to arrange use of a greenhouse and poly tunnel. The poly tunnel needed some repairs and several members of staff from my department helped with that. There were a few runoff boxes left over from an experiment that was carried out a few years ago but I needed more, thankfully the department has a workshop and technician to help with designing and making these.

There were enough seeds left over from previous experiments that I didn’t need to order any more. These were carefully measured so that each treatment had a similar germination rate and planted in seed trays in the greenhouse. They germinated very quickly, which is one of the reasons I chose them.

Once the runoff boxes were made and plants in the greenhouse had germinated these were all transported to the field station. The boxes were filled with soil (a job I actually really enjoyed!) and the plants were potted on. The plants seem to have taken well to their new surroundings and are thriving.

This blog was first published at:

New research from our group has taken a look at how land use change, agriculture and centuries of pollution have affected stores of carbon in plants and soils across the UK.

Read more in this news article in .

Our recentÌý

Centuries of nutrient changeÌý

The past two centuries have seen huge changes in our landscapes and ways of lifeÌýthat haveÌýdrivenÌýbig changesÌýinÌýthe flows of macronutrients,Ìýcarbon nitrogen and phosphorus,Ìýin our environment.ÌýAgricultural expansion has changed plant cover, disrupting plant-soil nutrient cycles, and with the Green Revolution and the widespread adoption of inorganic fertilizer use came large additions of nitrogen and phosphorusÌýto the environment. Natural ecosystems too have been affected by large additions of nitrogen from atmospheric pollution, driven by rising fertilizer use and fossil fuel burning.ÌýRisingÌýpopulations, the introduction of the toilet,Ìýand the use of new products in the home such as detergents,ÌýhaveÌýalsoÌýmeant thatÌýwastewater has changed the flow of nutrients around our environment.ÌýÌý

A nutrient puzzleÌý

All thisÌýsimultaneous,Ìýlong-term,ÌýwidespreadÌýchange presents us with puzzleÌý– how can we understand how these various drivers have contributed to nutrientÌýcycleÌýchangeÌýandÌýthe consequences for terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and what can we learn that helps us manage nutrient flows and the negative knock-on effects in future? Computer modelling offers us a way to unpick this puzzle.ÌýÌý

The Long-Term Large-Scale project, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council’s Macronutrient ResearchÌýProgramme,Ìýbrought togetherÌýa diverse set ofÌýresearchersÌýto build an integrated model that interconnectsÌýnutrient processesÌýfrom atmosphere to plants and soils to waterways.ÌýJohn Quinton and Jess Davies were part of this modelling effort contributing key components in plant-soil biogeochemical and soil erosion modelling.ÌýÌý

Modelling the past to understand theÌýfutureÌý

°Õ³ó±ðÌý, published in Science of the Total Environment, communicates some of our findings from a freshwater perspective. Our modelling analysis indicatesÌýthat the rapid increase in the use of agriculturalÌýfertilisersÌýafter the second world war, and the rising human population, led to a rapid rise inÌýnitrogenÌýand phosphorusÌýfluxes to rivers, with nitrogen export to rivers quadruplingÌýand phosphorus increasing by a factor of 10Ìý(see figure exert below).ÌýDuring this period, the modelling shows that the dominant source ofÌýnitrogenÌýtoÌýriversÌýswitchedÌýfromÌýintenseÌýgrasslandsÌýto arable, the dissolved N export to rivers quadrupled, and P from human wasteÌýentering our waterwaysÌýincreased by ~600%, despiteÌýwaste waterÌýtreatment.ÌýÌý

This work highlights the extent to which we as humans have modified our nutrient worldÌýin the past, but it can also help us make a better future. This research and the modelling tools producedÌýcanÌýhelpÌýinform national nutrient budgets and targeting of water qualityÌýmeasures, andÌýhelp us set realistic targets for nutrient export and water quality status.Ìý

Exert from figure in Bell et al 2021: Export of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus to UK waterways from soils 1800–2010.

If you are interested in other findings form the Long-Term Large Scale Macronutrient Change project, more outputs from the project are listed below:Ìý

• Measured estimates of semi-natural terrestrial NPP in Great Britain: comparison with modelled values, and dependence on atmospheric nitrogen deposition. Edward Tipping, Jessica A. C. Davies, Peter A. Henrys, Susan G. Jarvis, Edwin C. Rowe, Simon M. Smart, Michael G. Le Duc, Robert H. Marrs, Robin J.ÌýPakemanÌý(2019) Biogeochemistry 144, 215–227.ÌýÌýÌý
• Impact of two centuries of intensive agriculture on soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in the UK.ÌýS.E.Muhammed, K. Coleman,ÌýLianhaiÌýWu, V.A. Bell, J.A.C. Davies, J.N. Quinton, E.J. Carnell, S.J. Tomlinson, A.J. Dore, U.ÌýDragosits, P.S. Naden, M.J.ÌýGlendining, E. Tipping, A.P. Whitmore (2018). Science of the Total Environment 634, 1486–1504.ÌýÌýÌý
• Long-term increases in soil carbon due to ecosystem fertilization by atmospheric nitrogen deposition demonstrated by regional-scale modelling and observations.Ìý E. Tipping, J. A. C. Davies, P. A. Henrys, G. J. D. Kirk, A. Lilly, U.ÌýDragosits, E. J. Carnell, A. J. Dore, M. A. Sutton & S. J. Tomlinson.Ìý Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 1890 (2017)ÌýÌýÌý
• 150 years of macronutrient change in unfertilized UK ecosystems: Observations vs simulations.Ìý JAC Davies, E Tipping, AP Whitmore.Ìý Science of the Total Environment (2016)ÌýÌýÌý
• Long-term P weathering and recent N deposition control contemporary plant-soil C, N, and P. J.A.C. Davies,ÌýE.Tipping, E.C. Rowe, J.F. Boyle,ÌýE.GrafÌýPannatier, V. Martinsen (2016) Global Biogeochemical Cycles 30, 231-249.ÌýÌýÌý