Soil samples were taken in April 2013 from sites in Friemar
(west of Erfurt) and Zschortau (north of Leipzig) in eastern
Germany. The sites are part of long-term
field experiments installed to analyze the impact of tillage intensity on soil properties
and productivity in 1992/93 and 1997/98, respectively (Koch et al.,
2009). The site in Friemar is a Haplic Phaeozem (3% sand, 68% silt,
29% clay) with a mean annual precipitation of 517 mm and a mean
annual temperature of 7.8 C, while the site in Zschortau is a Gleyic
Luvisol (33% sand, 53% silt, 14% clay) with a mean annual
precipitation of 512 mm and a mean annual temperature of
8.8 C (Koch et al., 2009). The two contrasting soils were chosen as
field replicates. Samples were taken from the conventionally tilled
plots, managed with annual moldboard ploughing to the depth of
30 cm. More detailed site information are given in Koch et al.
(2009). A composite soil sample was taken from each plot
consisting of twelve individual core samples taken from 0 to
30 cm depth. The soil samples were sieved