A field experiment was conducted between November 1997 and September 1999 in 48
landscape microcosms constructed at The Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research
and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio on a Canfield silt loam soil (29% sand, 42% silt, and
29% clay). Microcosms were constructed by slicing a narrow (15 cm) trench one m deep around
the perimeter of 1-m2 soil plots. The trench was lined with 30-ml PVC landfill liner material,
thereby isolating the soil environment of each plot and allowing for the establishment of
replicated, randomized soil environments, without affecting drainage patterns. In the spring of
1998, one river birch tree was planted in each microcosm. The trees averaged 1.5 m tall when
they were planted.