The Park Grass experiment is the oldest experiment on permanent grassland in the world. Started by Lawes and Gilbert in 1856, its original purpose was to investigate ways of improving the yield of hay by the application of inorganic fertilisers and organic manure. The continuing effects of the original treatments on species diversity and on soil function, together with later tests of liming and interactions with atmospheric inputs and climate change, has meant that Park Grass has become increasingly important to ecologists, environmentalists and soil scientists.
Nowadays, this experiment is one of the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) funded National Capabilities at Rothamsted Research, in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
