Russell Ranch Research Request Guidelines
Please fill out the following information and submit it to Kate Scow,
kmscow@ucdavis.edu.
Name and email address:
Name of faculty member with overall responsibility for this research:
Department and university:
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
Name of person organizing field operations, if different:
Phone:
Email:
1) Summarize the proposed research giving a descriptive title of your proposed
research project (e.g., "Comparison of soil water status in rainfed fallow/wheat vs.
WLCC/wheat systems.") and a brief description of what scientific question(s) you
are trying to answer.
2) If you only need archival sampling, we have archival soil samples, composited by
depth for each plot for 1993, 1995, and 1997. We also have small quantities of plant
samples from each year. Due to the anticipated demand for these samples over the
decades, we can only release the amount actually used for analysis. If you have
concerns about the uniformity of these samples, you can request enough to run two
or more replicates of each sample. Contact Israel Herrera (igherrera@ucdavis.edu)
to discuss your needs.
3) What kind of field sampling will you need to do and what are the approximate
dates of field sampling?
4) If you will need advance notice of certain field operations (e.g., coordinate
sampling with irrigation), please specify.
5) Which cropping system(s) at LTRAS (each a two-year rotation) and which phase
of the rotation will you study? Note that the use of 15N is allowed in the phase
where wheat is not present or the phase where tomatoes are present.
6) Will your research require any modification of farming operations? Any
additional costs for labor, farm equipment rental, or materials will be charged to the
faculty member submitting the proposal.
7) If the activities described in this proposal will use microplots already assigned to
you, please specify the microplot numbers (from 1-40, as in plot map above).
8) How many microplots are you requesting per plot?
9) What account number will cover charges for additional crop management costs
or microplot fees?
10) If you plan to install dataloggers, neutron probe access tubes, etc., that could be
damaged by farm equipment, please specify what will be installed in your
microplots, when they will be installed and removed, and any special arrangements
to avoid damage during field operations. Example: "Soil temperature probes will be
installed after crop emergence and removed before harvest. Probes will be placed
in the crop row where they will not be damaged by cultivation, but we will need
prior notice of cultivation so that we can disconnect cables connecting temperature
probes to our dataloggers, which will be placed at the edge of the field."
11) If you will need to specify the timing of some farming operations, such as
irrigation or harvest, please explain. Example: "Ideally, the first irrigation of the
year should occur on the same day for all systems studied. However, a difference of
up to two days is acceptable." Because the timing of operations is constrained by
weather and equipment availability, an otherwise acceptable proposal may be
rejected if harvesting or irrigating at a particular time is required.
12) Will your research meet the definition of "low impact"? "Low-impact” sampling
is defined as:
--soil cores < 40 mm in diameter and < 30 cm deep (up to 50 cores per plot per year)
--removal of individual leaves of crops or weeds (up to 20 per plot per year)
--any nondestructive measurements (visual observations, clamp-on chlorophyll
meter, IR thermometer, etc.)
--no application of isotopes, tracers, biocides, or other chemicals
--staying out of plots when, in the judgement of the Facilities Manager, they are too
wet for foot traffic.
High-impact research activities, such as use of isotopes or removal of largediameter soil cores, can be authorized by the LTRAS Director with sufficient
justification. Future researchers at LTRAS need to know when and where
these activities took place, however. To facilitate record-keeping and
minimize negative interactions among projects, high-impact research
activities are restricted to microplots allocated to individual researchers. If
your experiment is low-impact, ignore the following five questions.
13) Please describe (and briefly justify, in terms of your research objectives) any
sampling involving root harvest or use of a shovel. Please include the maximum
dimensions (diameter and depth) and number of resulting holes (per subplot per
season). A citation to a published method may be useful in justifying your method,
although methods may need to be modified in consideration of future users of the
LTRAS site. Example: "In order to adequately describe root architecture, we need to
dig up one tomato plant per microplot at first bloom, excavating to a depth of 50 cm
or less, with hole diameter not to exceed 75 cm. This is a standard method, first
described in J. Root Arch. 42:1132, and cited in most recent papers in the field."
14) If you will be collecting soil cores > 40 mm in diameter, please specify number
of cores per subplot (per year), diameter, and depth. Please explain why these large
cores are needed.
15) If you will need to apply any isotopes, biocides, tracers, or other chemicals,
please provide details and explain why this is necessary for your research. Note that
15N can only be applied to one phase of each cropping system.
16) Please explain and justify any other research activities that might have an effect
on future research in the same subplots.
17) Even research activities with major long-term effects may be approved if there
is sufficient scientific justification and if the data cannot be obtained in another way.
In addition to justification of specific activities in the boxes above, you may provide
an overall justification here, explaining the importance of your work to science, to
the development of more sustainable agricultural practices, etc.
18) Will you need assistance from the LTRAS staff (e.g., in sampling or in managing
microplots)? Typically, managing a microplot differently from the main plot will
require some discussion, for example, to prevent irrigation water applied to a
microplot from affecting neighboring microplots. But, unless specified otherwise,
we will assume that your staff will be available to carry out any microplot
management not involving farm equipment.
By submitting this proposal, you agree to deposit data collected at the LTRAS
site (or using samples collected at LTRAS) in the LTRAS Electronic Data
Archive within two years of when the data were obtained as specified in the
LTRAS Charter.