Long-term field experiments in grassland – more than just resource-consuming nostalgia

Summary This paper highlights the importance of long-term field experiments in grassland and offers conclusive and strong arguments for their preservation and continuation. Examples of Austrian and selected European long-term experiments (LTEs) exhibit quite diverse research activities while applying modern analytics and survey methods. Increasing attractiveness for interdisciplinary work in both basic and applied research is proven. It is concluded that not all long-term experiments still existing will be maintained in their original form and managed according to the underlying experimental concept because of scarce human and financial resources. Therefore, both minimum requirements and optimal constellations for the future use of such ‘listening places’ are defined. Finally, the intention of this paper also is to motivate the responsible persons and research institutions to further explore and protect these highly valuable resources.