The importance of long-term field experiments for soil science and environmental research – a review

An insufficient use of the results of long-term field experiments is not responsible and it means harm to research capacities. Long-term experiments are very expensive, but under the condition of comprehensive and coordinated evaluation they still represent the most cost-effective research method. With the knowledge obtained on the basis of long-term field experiments the farmers could double the yields in the last decades, improve the quality of the products and the environmental protection and secure the sufficient human nutrition. Nevertheless, if there are more than 400 000 diet-related deaths annually in Germany, it is not because of the lack of food, but in the opposite, because the food is too plentiful, too good and too cheap. If a farmer fertilized his plants and fed his animals in such a way we humans nourish ourselves, he would bankrupt within a few months, because: 1. The yields in plant and livestock production would be dramatically reduced and 2. veterinary surgeon costs would become priceless. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the long-term field experiment in Thyrow in Germany, an international conference took place in Berlin, in June 1997. The participants of this conference proclaimed the memorandum For the maintenance and the comprehensive use of European long-term field experiments, which was signed by many scientists responsible for the maintenance of the long-term field experiments in 14 countries. In the concluding part of this memorandum the following points were emphasized: Contribute to the maintenance of the European long-term field trials, as they are essential for agricultural and environmental research. Support the efforts aiming at more extensive and cooperative use of the long-term field trials, which are a basis of the research on sustainable land use. Help to use the scientific knowledge originating in the long-term field trials to increase food production by means of maintenance of the soil quality and protection of natural resources. Contribute to keep the long-term field trials available and functioning effectively as a scientific heritage for future generations.