Award details

The Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments including Sample Archive and e-RA database

Reference	BBS/E/C/00005189
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Keith Goulding
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Andy Macdonald
Institution	Rothamsted Research
Department	Rothamsted Research Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	3,211,016
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2012
End date	31/03/2017
Duration	59 months

Abstract

Between 1843 and 1856, nine field experiments were started at Rothamsted Research to study the nutrient requirements of the principle arable crops and a hay meadow. One experiment failed because of poor soil structure and crop diseases. The remaining eight experiments have continued, with appropriate modifications, until today. These are now known as the ‘Rothamsted Classical Experiments’. They are the oldest, continuous agronomic experiments in the world. Samples of crops, soils and fertilisers and manures applied to the experiments were retained and the resulting Sample Archive now comprises >300,000 samples. No other long-term experiments have such an archive. The Electronic Rothamsted Archive database, e-RA, brings the data from the Classical and other long-term experiments into an accessible and useable format. These three components comprise the proposed Long-Term Experiments, Sample Archive and e-RA database National Capability (in brief, the LTEs NC). The objectives of this National Capability are to: 1. Maintain and manage the Long-Term Experiments, Sample Archive and eRA database such that they are of continuing and increasing use to the national and international research community and to Rothamsted staff in the study of the long-term sustainability of cropping systems. 2. To further develop the eRA database such that the LTEs, Archive and data are more visible and accessible to the research community. Current uses of the LTEs NC, that will deliver research and economic impact, are the investigation of key traits in wheat for nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency and grain quality and the ‘Metasoil/Terragenome’ and other genomic studies that are using soil from the Broadbalk and Park Grass experiments to explore microbial diversity and function. In particular, the ‘Terragenome’ project will obtain a large amount of metagenome sequence from a reference rhizosphere soil that can be of use to soil microbiologists around the world.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Microbiology, Plant Science, Soil Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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