Complete Crop Cycle Timeline
Total labile carbon to 600mm depth (T/ha) from Nov 2022 to June 2025
⚠️ Data Gap Note: No measurements were taken during 2023. Changes during this 18-month period cannot be determined.
Key Insight: All treatments follow similar patterns - gradual rise after sweetcorn, peak after tomato winter cover crops (Nov 2024), then return to baseline after legumes. The story is about crop effects, not management differences!
Winter Management Pathways
Different strategies, remarkably similar carbon outcomes
🐑 Grazed Annual Ryegrass
Conventional system
Strategy: Ryegrass + lamb grazing
Carbon cycling: Via animal deposition
Pattern: 4.10 → 4.55 → 5.44 → 4.15 T/ha
🌱 Ungrazed Multispecies
Hybrid + Regenerative
Strategy: Diverse cover crops
Carbon cycling: Natural decomposition
Pattern: 4.12 → 4.63 → 5.23 → 4.17 T/ha
Surprising Finding: Despite fundamentally different biological pathways - livestock grazing versus undisturbed plant growth - both winter management strategies achieve nearly identical carbon cycling patterns.
HWE Carbon Through Time and Depth
Grouped by treatment - see how each management system changes over time
Treatment Timeline Insight: Grouping by treatment reveals that all three management systems follow remarkably similar patterns over time. Each treatment shows the same temporal sequence: baseline → slight rise → peak in Nov-24 → return to baseline. The gaps between treatments make it easy to see that treatment choice has minimal impact compared to seasonal/crop effects.
Treatment Comparisons by Time Period
Grouped by sampling date - compare treatments within each time period
Treatment Comparison: Grouping by time period reveals that treatment differences are minimal but consistent. Nov-24 shows the highest carbon across all treatments and depths, while Jun periods show lower values. The soil profile pattern (surface > subsurface > deep) is maintained across all treatments and time periods. Note the clear visual gaps between time periods for easier comparison.
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