Access to leaching fields

Leaching fields located on clay and sandy soils provide an effective research environment for evaluating agricultural environmental program measures under practical farming conditions. Long-term time series on erosion and nutrient loading from these fields enable comparison of the effects of new measures and identification of risk factors in crop production in terms of waterborne nutrient loading.

The leaching fields provide data on the effects of cultivation methods on yield, soil, nitrogen and phosphorus leaching, and erosion. The service offers a broad comparative dataset based on long-term, repeated cultivation practices: direct drilling/ploughing, organic/conventional, buffer zone/no buffer zone, and permanent grassland.

The leaching fields enable the assessment of the effectiveness of current agri-environmental water protection measures under real farming conditions and help identify areas for improvement. The service provides information on the mechanisms of nutrient load generation, develops assessment methods, or studies the impact of new cultivation practices on nutrient runoff.

• Field maintenance and cultivation operations.
• Monitoring of runoff volume.
• Water sample analysis (TN, NO₃-N, NH₄-N, TP, PO₄-P).
• Analysis of erosion material.
• Yield measurement and crop sampling.
• Chemical and quality analyses.
• Soil fertility analysis.
• Sampling and water analysis according to the experimental design and agreement.
• Research projects have the right of first use of the data; the use of the data must always be negotiated.

Researchers, research groups, research communities, research networks, research projects, research organizations, companies.

• Physical, remote or hybrid access.
• Entire field can be used for leaching studies; subplots for soil studies within the field are also possible.

• Research must be suitable for long-term field conditions.
• Activities must not compromise the continuity of long-term monitoring.

• Describe the research purpose/question, what will be studied.
• Specify the required area (m²) or plot dimensions (m).
• List any special equipment/inputs/instruments needed.
• Describe the treatments, observations, sample collection, and required monitoring data.