Two decades of fumigation data from the Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment facility

Authors: Aspray, Elise; MIES, TIMOTHY - University Of Illinois; MCGRATH, JESSE - University Of Illinois; Montes, Christopher; DALSING, BRADLEY - University Of Illinois; PUTHUVAL, KANNAN - University Of Illinois; WHETTEN, ANDREWS - University Of Wisconsin; HERRIOTT, JELENA - Langston University; LI, SHUAI - University Of Illinois; Bernacchi, Carl; McGrath, Justin; Ainsworth, Elizabeth - Lisa

Submitted to: Scientific Data
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/28/2023
Publication Date: 4/20/2023
Citation: Aspray, E.K., Mies, T.A., McGrath, J.A., Montes, C.M., Dalsing, B., Puthuval, K.K., Whetten, A., Herriott, J., Li, S., Bernacchi, C.J., McGrath, J.M., Ainsworth, E.A., et al. 2023. Two decades of fumigation data from the Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment facility. Scientific Data. 10. Article 226. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02118-x.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02118-x

Interpretive Summary: The Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment (SoyFACE) facility is the longest running facility exposing crops to elevated carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations in the field. The facility is located in East Central Illinois, USA, and exposes crops to different atmospheric concentrations in replicated plots. The experiment provides ground truth data for predicting future crop productivity. Fumigation data from SoyFACE were collected every four seconds throughout each growing season for over two decades. In this paper, we organize, quality control, and collate 20 years of data to support crop modeling efforts.

Technical Abstract: The Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment (SoyFACE) facility is the longest running open-air carbon dioxide and ozone enrichment facility in the world. For over two decades, soybean, maize, and other crops have been exposed to the elevated carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations anticipated for late this century. The facility, located in East Central Illinois, USA, exposes crops to different atmospheric concentrations in replicated octagonal ~280 m2 Free Air Concentration Enrichment (FACE) treatment plots. Each FACE plot is paired with an untreated control (ambient) plot. The experiment provides important ground truth data for predicting future crop productivity. Fumigation data from SoyFACE were collected every four seconds throughout each growing season for over two decades. Here, we organize, quality control, and collate 20 years of data to facilitate trend analysis and crop modeling efforts. This paper provides the rationale for and a description of the SoyFACE experiments along with a summary of the fumigation data and collation process, weather and ambient data collection procedures, and explanations of air pollution metrics and calculations.