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Title: Introducing the GRACEnet/REAP data contribution, discovery and retrieval system

Author
item Del Grosso, Stephen - Steve
item White, Jeffrey
item WILSON, G - Retired ARS Employee
item Vandenberg, Bruce
item Karlen, Douglas
item Follett, Ronald
item Johnson, Jane
item Franzluebbers, Alan
item Archer, David
item Gollany, Hero
item Liebig, Mark
item Ascough Ii, James
item Reyes-Fox, Melissa
item Starr, Jon
item Barbour, Nancy
item Polumsky, Robert - Wayne
item Gutwein, Megan
item James, David
item Pellack, Lawrence - Larry

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/17/2013
Publication Date: 5/30/2013
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/57059
Citation: Del Grosso, S.J., White, J.W., Wilson, G., Vandenberg, B.C., Karlen, D.L., Follett, R.F., Johnson, J.M., Franzluebbers, A.J., Archer, D.W., Gollany, H.T., Liebig, M.A., Ascough II, J.C., Reyes-Fox, M.A., Starr, J.L., Barbour, N.W., Polumsky, R.W., Gutwein, M., James, D.E., Pellack, L.S. 2013. Introducing the GRACEnet/REAP data contribution, discovery and retrieval system. Journal of Environmental Quality. 42:1274-1280. DOI:10.2134/jeq2013.03.0097.

Interpretive Summary: Difficulties in accessing data on greenhouse gas fluxes and performance of bioenergy crops limit the ability of researchers and others to address environmental impacts of agriculture and the potential to produce feedstocks for biofuels, such as ethanol. To address those needs, the GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) and REAP (Renewable Energy Assessment Project) research programs were initiated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). A major product of these efforts is the creation of a database with greenhouse gas fluxes, soil carbon stocks, biomass yield, nutrient, and energy characteristics, and model input data for agricultural cropping and grazing systems. The data records include: site descriptors (e.g., weather, soil class, spatial attributes), experimental design (e.g., factors manipulated, measurements performed, plot layouts), management information (e.g., planting and harvesting schedules, fertilizer types and amounts, biomass harvested, grazing intensity), and measurements (e.g., soil C and N stocks, plant biomass amount and chemical composition). Field sampling protocols and a spreadsheet-based data entry template were developed. A web accessible application is now available for registered users to query and download data including measurement protocols. Separate portals are provided for each project (GRACEnet and REAP) at nrrc.ars.usda.gov/slgracenet/#/Home and nrrc.ars.usda.gov/slreap/#/Home. The database architecture and data entry template have proven flexible and robust for describing a wide range of field experiments and thus appear suitable for other natural resource research projects.

Technical Abstract: Difficulties in accessing high quality data on trace gas fluxes and performance of bioenergy/bio-product feedstocks limit the ability of researchers and others to address environmental impacts of agriculture and the potential to produce feedstocks. To address those needs, the GRACEnet (Greenhouse gas Reduction through Agricultural Carbon Enhancement network) and REAP (Renewable Energy Assessment Project) research programs were initiated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS). A major product of these programs is the creation of a database with greenhouse gas fluxes, soil carbon stocks, biomass yield, nutrient, and energy characteristics, and input data for modeling cropped and grazed systems. The data include: site descriptors (e.g., weather, soil class, spatial attributes), experimental design (e.g., factors manipulated, measurements performed, plot layouts), management information (e.g., planting and harvesting schedules, fertilizer types and amounts, biomass harvested, grazing intensity), and measurements (e.g., soil C and N stocks, plant biomass amount and chemical composition). To promote standardization of data and ensure that experiments were fully described, sampling protocols and a spreadsheet-based data entry template were developed. Data were first uploaded to a temporary database for checking and then were uploaded to the central database. A web accessible application allows for registered users to query and download data including measurement protocols. Separate portals have been provided for each project (GRACEnet and REAP) at nrrc.ars.usda.gov/slgracenet/#/Home and nrrc.ars.usda.gov/slreap/#/Home. Database architecture and data entry template have proven flexible and robust for describing a wide range of field experiments and thus appear suitable for other natural resource research projects.