HR: 0830h
AN: B21F-0780    [PDF]
TI: Soil Properties as Influenced by Dust Emissions
AU: * Skidmore, E L
EM: skidmore@weru.ksu.edu
AF: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 1515 College Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502 United States
AU: Tatarko, J
EM: jt@weru.ksu.edu
AF: USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 1515 College Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502 United States
AB: Wind erosion selectively removes the most fertile portion of the soil. When sediment balance from wind erosion is negative, soil quality is impoverished. Our objective was to determine the change in selected soil properties that are measures of soil quality as influenced by dust emissions from wind erosion. We sampled saltation drifts and near surface bulk soil from several recently eroded fields, measured selected soil properties, and compared results from the eroded saltation drifts with the non-eroded bulk soil. We found that sandy loams became loamy sands and loamy sands became sands with 10 to 30% increase of sand in the saltation drift with a corresponding decrease in organic matter and cation exchange capacity. Whereas the texture, organic matter, and cation exchange is not benefited by the millions of tons of nutrient and organic matter enriched soil that is deposited in the road ditches, reservoirs, and oceans. In general, wind erosion degrades soil and lowers its capacity to produce food and fiber needed to sustain an increasing population.
DE: 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345, 4801)
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting