A data set from north Germany for the validation of agroecosystem models: documentation and evaluation

A three-year set of agricultural field measurements for two silt loam and one sandy soil locations is documented. The measurements represent the coordinated efforts of five member institutions of a long-term, interdisciplinary project focusing on agroecosystem processes. The data provided the basis for a comparative modeling workshop. Soil-water and weather have been most intensively monitored, followed by soil nitrogen, crop growth and herbicide persistence. Detailed field management as well as measurement methodologies are described. The presence of multiple, independent measurements of soil-water status at one of the loam sites presented a rare opportunity for assessing the quality of this portion of the data. It was concluded that the 10 to 400 cm profile of electronically-monitored matrix potential provides a remarkably consistent and rich picture of both long- and short-term soil-water behavior at this site.