Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)/KBS016: Dinitrogen Fixation by Hairy Vetch (Vicia villosa L.) in a Low-Chemical Input Cropping System

LTER - Long-Term Ecological Research Program/Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER/KBS016 (Summary adapted from the LTER Core Data Set Catalog): Measurements of dinitrogen fixation potential (acetylene reduction assay) and biomass and N accretion in hairy vetch used as a winter cover in low-chemical input cropping systems. Aboveground biomass accumulation is measured in the low-chemical input cropping system described in KBS004, and aboveground and belowground biomass (roots, nodules) and N2 fixation by intact nodules is measured in a subset of ancillary plots with different levels of available soil nitrogen.

The 1,000 ha W.K. Kellogg Biological Station has been administered by Michigan State University as a primary research facility since its 1929 deeding to the university by Kellogg. In its early years the Station was devoted to wildlife, forestry, and soil conservation research; during the past 20 years a research emphasis on ecology, production agronomy, and forest genetics has led to well-established and internationally recognized programs in each of these fields.