Journal
EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS
Volume 38, Issue 8, Pages 908-912Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1002/esp.3408
Keywords
soil erosion; SOM carbon; soil organic matter persistence
Funding
- University of California, Merced
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The effect of erosional detachment, transport, and deposition of topsoil on the stock of soil organic matter (SOM) and its association with soil minerals has been a focus of a growing number of studies. A particularly lively debate is currently centered on the questions of whether terrestrial sedimentation of previously eroded SOM may constitute a relevant sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), and how stable' such carbon (C) might be on multidecadal timescales. In this commentary, we illustrate how redistribution of eroded SOM within a landscape can create situations that are not adequately described by the jargon commonly used to characterize C turnover dynamics. We argue that more quantitative and scientifically rigorous categories are needed to describe soil C turnover and to promote the development of innovative, numerical models of C dynamics in landscapes characterized by significant mass movement. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available