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The dynamics of soil redistribution and the implications for soil organic carbon accounting in agricultural south‐eastern A ustralia
Author(s) -
Chappell Adrian,
Sanderman Jonathan,
Thomas Mark,
Read Arthur,
Leslie Chris
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02682.x
Subject(s) - soil carbon , redistribution (election) , environmental science , soil water , radionuclide , soil science , politics , political science , law , physics , quantum mechanics
Anthropogenically induced change in soil redistribution plays an important role in the soil organic carbon ( SOC ) budget. Uncertainty of its impact is large because of the dearth of recent soil redistribution estimates concomitant with changing land use and management practices. An Australian national survey used the artificial radionuclide caesium‐137 ( 137 Cs) to estimate net (1950s–1990) soil redistribution. South‐eastern A ustralia showed a median net soil loss of 9.7 t ha −1 yr −1 . We resurveyed the region using the same 137 Cs technique and found a median net (1990–2010) soil gain of 3.9 t ha −1 yr −1 with an interquartile range from −1.6 t ha −1 yr −1 to +10.7 t ha −1 yr −1 . Despite this variation, soil erosion across the region has declined as a likely consequence of the widespread adoption of soil conservation measures over the last ca 30 years. The implication of omitted soil redistribution dynamics in SOC accounting is to increase uncertainty and diminish its accuracy.