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The Ag Data Commons is migrating to a new institutional portal on Figshare. The current system is available for search and download only. The new platform is open for submission with assistance from Ag Data Commons curators. Please contact NAL-ADC-Curator@usda.gov, if you need to publish or update your datasets.

Long Term Agroecosystem Research Overview

In pursuit of sustainable U.S. agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the Long-Term Agroecosystem (LTAR) network. The LTAR network is composed of 18 locations distributed across the contiguous United States working together to address national and local agricultural priorities and advance the sustainable intensification of U.S. agriculture.

The LTAR network represents a range of major U.S. agroecosystems, including annual row cropping systems, grazinglands, and integrated systems representative of roughly 49 percent of cereal production, 30 percent of forage production, and 32 percent of livestock production in the United States. Furthermore, the LTAR sites span geographic and climatic gradients representing a variety of challenges and opportunities to U.S. agriculture.

The LTAR network uses experimentation and coordinated observations to develop a national roadmap for the sustainable intensification of agricultural production. While the LTAR network is a new network, experimentation and measurements began at some LTAR sites more than 100 years ago, while other locations started their research as recently as 19 years ago.

A primary goal of LTAR is to develop and to share science-based findings with producers and stakeholders. Tools, technologies, and management practices resulting from LTAR network science will be applied to the sustainable intensification of U.S. agriculture. Technical innovations, including new production techniques, genetics, and sensor infrastructure applied at the farm/ranch level can increase the capacity for adaptive management, reduce time and operational costs, and increase profits and the quality of life for producers.

For full list of LTAR sites, view the sites matrix at https://ltar.ars.usda.gov/sites/.

For more information about the LTAR network visit: https://ltar.ars.usda.gov

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LTAR Research Sites

Data from the following LTAR sites are presented. They are related to topics such as agricultural sustainability, climate change, ecosystem services, and natural resource conservation at the watershed or landscape scale.

  • Archbold Biological Station (ABS), Venus, FL
  • Cook Agronomy Farm (CAF), Pullman, WA
  • Central Mississippi River Basin (CMRB), Columbia, MO
  • Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER), Cheyenne, WY; Fort Collins, CO; Nunn, CO
  • Eastern Corn Belt (ECB), Columbus, OH; West Lafayette, IN
  • Gulf Atlantic Coastal Range (GACP), Tifton, GA
  • Great Basin (GB), Boise, ID; Burns, OR
  • Jornada Experimental Range (JER), Las Cruces, NM
  • Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), southwestern MI
  • Lower Mississippi River Basin (LMRB), Oxford, MS; AR; LA; MO
  • Northern Plains (NP), Mandan, ND
  • Platte River-High Plains Aquifer (PRHP), Lincoln, NE
  • Southern Plains (SP), El Reno, OK
  • Texas Gulf (TG), Riesel, TX
  • Upper Chesapeake Bay (UCB), University Park, PA
  • Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB), Ames, IA; MN; WI
  • Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed (WGEW), Tucson, AZ; Tombstone, AZ
  • Lower Chesapeake Bay (LCB), Beltsville, MD

    • Datasets

    634 datasets

    Agricultural Collaborative Research Outcomes System (AgCROS)

      The Agricultural Collaborative Research Outcomes System (AgCROS) is a growing “network of networks” that presently consists of multiple agricultural data networks: Nutrient Uptake and Outcome Network (NUOnet), the Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement Network (GRACEnet), Resilient Economic Agricultural Practices (REAP), Dairy Agriculture for People and the Planet (DAPP; Dairy Grand Challenge), Soil Health Assessment Network (SHAnet), Agricultural Antibiotic Resistance (AgAR), and the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network. By integrating these diverse database networks, AgCROS facilitates the flow of information and increases the cooperation among researchers participating in these networks.

      Sample of Mandan, North Dakota Aerial Image Dataset

        Originally produced by the Farm Security Administration, these are georeferenced aerial images from Morton County, North Dakota. Historic print images housed at the Mandan, North Dakota ARS Long-Term Agricultural Research facility were digitized, georeferenced, and processed for use in both professional and consumer level GIS applications, or in photo-editing applications. The original images were produced by the Farm Security Administration to monitor government compliance for farm land agreements. Current applications include assessing land use change over time with regard to erosion, land cover, and natural and man-made structures. Not for use in high precision applications.

        Manuresheds: Redesigning crop-livestock agriculture for sustainable intensification

          The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network is exploring the concept of the “manureshed,” the manure-spreadable land in the geographic, environmental, and social radius of a confined livestock operation. To better understand opportunities for expanding manuresheds in the United States, we identified the nationwide, county-level pattern of livestock distribution, manure excess, and crop assimilation of manure nutrients.

          TPAC Study for Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network in West Lafayette, Indiana

            This research project was conducted to assess the influence of cropping system management on non-carbon dioxide (non-CO2) GHG emissions from an eastern cornbelt alfisol. Corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotation plots were established, as were plots in continuous management of native grasses or Sorghum/Sudan grass. GHG fluxes were monitored throughout each growing season from 2004 through 2007.