Mediterranean Arable Systems COmparison Trial (MASCOT)

This experiment has been added by the GLTEN Curators using existing published sources.
Objective
Comparison of organic and conventional stockless farming systems
Description
The MASCOT long-term experiment started in Autumn 2001 and is located in the coastal plain of Tuscany, central Italy. At the end of the conversion period (October 2001), a 5-year stockless arable crop rotation was established in conventional and organic systems. The MASCOT (Mediterranean Arable Systems COmparison Trial) long-term experiment was planned in the late 1990s with the aim to establish the first exhaustive and scientifically rigorous Mediterranean long-term experiment comparing organic and conventional management systems for a typical arable crop rotation of Tuscany coastal plain. The establishment of MASCOT, represented the natural evolution of Pisa system-based research approach to alternative agriculture. The aim of MASCOT is to evaluate the long-term dynamics of soil physical, chemical and biological parameters, of macronutrients (NPK), of weed and pest populations and communities, of system biodiversity as well as economic and energetic aspects of systems management and effects on produce quality (also assessed with innovative methods, e.g. biocrystallization). A further objective is to provide, in the short-medium term, indications on the best cultural practices for the five crops included in the rotation.
Data Access Statement
Don't know
Data license
Don't know
Data policy
Don't know
Organization
Centre for Agro-environmental Research “Enrico Avanzi”, University of Pisa
People

Site: Mascot

Location
Pisa
Tuscany
Italy
Geographic location
43.651055, 10.338048
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Visits permitted?
No
Soil type
Tipic Xeropsamment
Soil description
loamy soil
Soil properties
VariableDepthValue (range)UnitsRef yearEstimated?Baseline?
soil organic carbon 9.3 g kg-1
total soil nitrogen 1.1 g kg-1
pH (8.47 – 8.7) 2001
sand content0 – 30 Centimetres43.7 (43.5 – ) Percent2001
silt content0 – 30 Centimetres (33.3 – 33.8) Percent2001
clay content0 – 30 Centimetres (23 – 22.7) percent2001
soil organic matter0 – 30 Centimetres (1.62 – 1.6) percent2001
total soil nitrogen0 – 30 Centimetres0.11 percent2001
field capacity 26.5 Percent dry weight2001
wilting point 11.5 percent dry weight2001
Climate description
Mediterranean, with rainfall mostly concentrated in autumn (October to December) and spring (March to April). Due to elevated air temperatures, potential evapotranspiration is generally high in late spring and summer (up to 6–7 mm day−1).
Climate properties
VariableTime periodValue (range)Units
mean monthly air temperature February11 degree Celsius
mean monthly air temperature August30 degree Celsius
rainfall (550 – 1180) millimeter
evapotranspiration late spring summer (6 – 7) mm per day
soil water deficit (120 – 150) mm per month

Design period: (2001—)

Design Type
Randomized complete block design
Design description
The total experimental area (ca. 24 ha) is divided into fields of ca. 0.35-1 ha each, where the five crops are allocated and managed organically or conventionally (each group of five fields represents a system within a block; each crop is present every year). Systems are replicated three times according to a RCB design. Both natural and planted vegetation (lucerne strips and a mixed hedgerow composed by local species: Crataegus monogyna, Cornus sanguinea, Ligustrum vulgare, Lonicera xylosteum, Prunus spinosa and Rhamnus cathartica) was established in the winter 2001-02 to build up an ecological infrastructure and to physically separate conventionally- and organically-managed fields.
Number of plots
30
Number of replicates
3
Number of harvests per year
1
Crops
CropYears grown
maize
wheat
sunflower
faba beans
durum wheat
red clover
Crop Rotations
Organic
  • 1
    maize
    sugar beet until 2006
  • 2
    wheat
    red clover
    Undersown in wheat as green manure
  • 3
    sunflower
  • 4
    faba beans
    (Pigeon bean)
  • 5
    durum wheat
    red clover
    Undersown in wheat as green manure
conventional
  • 1
    maize
    sugar beet until 2006
  • 2
    wheat
  • 3
    sunflower
  • 4
    faba beans
    (Pigeon bean)
  • 5
    durum wheat
Factor
Factor name
Factor levels
farming system
organic agriculture
conventional agriculture
Measurement
VariableMaterialUnitsFrequencyScaleComment
crop yieldsNot specified

Related publications