Department of Agroecology

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 Department of Agroecology About the department Askov Experimental Station - 130 years of unique agricultural research

Askov Experimental Station - 130 years of unique agricultural research

 

Who are we?

Askov Experimental Station is a unique research site both in Denmark and globally. Its primary focus is conducting experiments on manure application and soil carbon. Part of the area is dedicated to long-term fertiliser trials established in 1894 and continued ever since. Over time, these experiments have gained international recognition as the only ones in the world to compare varying inputs of nutrients from mineral fertilisers and animal manure over a period exceeding 120 years.

Read the profile article from the 125th anniversary of Askov Experimental Station.

 

 

 

Specifications

(copy 5)

The experimental station comprises 25 hectares of JB5 soil (clay soil). It features semi-field facilities with approximately 220 lysimeter systems and frame plots. In one of the lysimeter facilities, a biochar project was established in 2015.

Meet our Operations Manager

Henning Carlo Thomsen

Senior Agricultural Technician
M

P +4540614899

Go behind the scenes of our biochar experiment

Askov is also home to AGRO’s biochar experiments, which investigate how biochar influences soil fertility, carbon storage, and nutrient dynamics over time.

The experiments provide important insights into the potential of biochar as a tool for more sustainable cropping systems and for reducing the climate footprint of agriculture.

What do we do?

NATEF - National emission factors for nitrous oxide from nitrogen fertilisers and crop rotation

This project will create the basis for new national emission factors for nitrous oxide from nitrogen fertilizers and crop rotation.

Animal manure and mineral fertilizers

The experiments were established to test the nutritive value to crops of farmyard manure and to compare the effect of the manure with that obtained after addition of similar amounts of N, P, and K in mineral fertilizers.

Observation fieldplans

In collaboration with TystofteFonden, we handle and coordinate the implementation of the statutory variety testing of agricultural plants.

The Askov long-term straw experiment converted to semi-natural grassland

The Askov long-term straw disposal and cover cropping experiment was initiated in 1981 and terminated in spring 2020 and subsequently converted to semi-natural grassland.

LessN

The LessN project will identify crop rotations with particularly low nitrogen leaching, document their effect and index them. The goal is for them to be approved as an alternative instrument in the targeted nitrogen regulation.

Depletion and maintenance fertilization with phosphorus

The experiment was originally established in 1975 as a field trial at the Lundgård site on a coarse sandy soil. Since 1991, the experiment has been continued as an experiment in framed miniplots (0.77 m2) at Askov Research Station.

The Danish Pesticide Leaching Assessment Programme (PLAP)

A monitoring program of approved pesticides, degradation products, as well as optimization of approval and regulatory procedures.

The long-term C3- to C4-conversion experiment

The C4-crop, silage maize, is the crop grown in the experiment. Its distinctive type of photosynthesis allows for the tracing of changes in the natural abundance of 13C, thereby enabling the fate of carbon-derived residues derived from maize to be elucidated (C4-SOC).

Jyndevad Station

The experimental station comprises 30 hectares of sandy soil classified as agricultural soil type JB1, optimally designed with irrigation systems and effective shelterbelts.

The unique character of the soil is underscored by the presence of two significant long-term experiments. One is an “Depletion experiment” which is exceptional in that it has, for more than 80 years, examined the complex interplay between different levels of liming and phosphorus fertilisation specifically on highly sandy soil.

The other is the establishment of the new Danish Biochar LTE experiment in 2025, conducted both as a field trial and a lysimeter study to investigate the effects of biochar.

In addition, the areas are used for several other purposes, including the PLAP field—an early warning system for monitoring pesticide leaching into groundwater—variety testing for the Tystofte Foundation, and various experiments related to plant health.

More about the department

Revised 02.03.2026
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Jonathan Torp Henschel