Summary
This paper documents the relocation and redesign of the Woodlands Field pH experiment, a 60-year-old field trial threatened by urban development. The authors successfully moved the topsoil to a new site within the same soil association and maintained the pH gradient, whilst improving the experimental design through randomisation and adding microbiome research capability. The work provides practical guidance on the costs, benefits, and non-monetary considerations involved in preserving long-term soil research assets rather than abandoning or replacing them.
UK applicability
This case study is directly applicable to UK agricultural research practice, as it addresses the preservation of long-term field experiments under real-world land-use pressures. The technical and logistical lessons from this relocation—including soil handling methods and site selection criteria—are transferable to other UK field experiments facing similar threats from urban encroachment or land-use change.
Key measures
Soil pH gradient maintenance (4.5–7.5); relocation logistics and costs; experimental statistical design improvements; soil microbial community composition over time
Outcomes reported
The study documented the successful relocation of a 60-year-old field experiment established in 1961, moving the topsoil whilst maintaining the soil pH gradient (4.5–7.5) over a 2-year post-relocation period. The redesigned experiment was enhanced with randomisation and additional plots to support microbiome research alongside the original pH treatments.
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