*2.1. Study Site*

The soil at the research site (45◦11 N, 73◦20 W) is a moderately decomposed Haplosaprist [28], with a pH of 5.7 and a carbon and nitrogen content of 46% and 2.0%, respectively.

The average annual precipitation (30-year period) at the experimental site is 961 mm, and the annual average temperature is 6.6 ◦C. The annual frost-free period is 146 days, with 3289 degree-days above 0 ◦C (http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate\_normals/).

Although the field experiment was conducted over only one crop growth cycle, the experimental design was rigorously developed and applied, thus assuring the representativeness of the data, which are characteristic of this site and year, specifically.
