Soil organic carbon dust emission: an omitted global source of atmospheric CO2
Article
Article Title | Soil organic carbon dust emission: an omitted global source of atmospheric CO2 |
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ERA Journal ID | 3258 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Chappell, Adrian (Author), Webb, Nicholas P. (Author), Butler, Harry J. (Author), Strong, Craig L. (Author), McTainsh, Grant H. (Author), Leys, John F. (Author) and Viscarra Rossel, Raphael A. (Author) |
Journal Title | Global Change Biology |
Journal Citation | 19 (10), pp. 3238-3244 |
Number of Pages | 7 |
Year | 2013 |
Place of Publication | Chichester, West Sussex. United Kingdom |
ISSN | 1354-1013 |
1365-2486 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12305 |
Web Address (URL) | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2486 |
Abstract | Soil erosion redistributes soil organic carbon (SOC) within terrestrial ecosystems, to the atmosphere and oceans. Dust export is an essential component of the carbon (C) and carbon dioxide (CO2) budget because wind erosion contributes to the C cycle by removing selectively SOC from vast areas and transporting C dust quickly offshore; augmenting the net loss of C from terrestrial systems. However, the contribution of wind erosion to rates of C release and sequestration is poorly understood. Here, we describe how SOC dust emission is omitted from national C accounting, is an underestimated source of CO2 and may accelerate SOC decomposition. Similarly, long dust residence times in the unshielded atmospheric environment may considerably increase CO2 emission. We developed a first approximation to SOC enrichment for a well established dust emission model and quantified SOC dust emission for Australia (5.83 Tg CO2-e yr−1) and Australian agricultural soils (0.4 Tg CO2-e yr−1). These amount to underestimates for CO2 emissions of ≈10% from combined C pools in Australia (year = 2000), ≈5% from Australian Rangelands and ≈3% of Australian Agricultural Soils by Kyoto Accounting. Northern hemisphere countries with greater dust emission than Australia are also likely to have much larger SOC dust emission. Therefore, omission of SOC dust emission likely represents a considerable underestimate from those nations' C accounts. We suggest that the omission of SOC dust emission from C cycling and C accounting is a significant global source of uncertainty. Tracing the fate of wind-eroded SOC in the dust cycle is therefore essential to quantify the release of CO2 from SOC dust to the atmosphere and the contribution of SOC deposition to downwind C sinks. |
Keywords | Australia; carbon accounting; carbon budgets; carbon dioxide; dust emission; soil organic carbon |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 410101. Carbon sequestration science |
370104. Atmospheric composition, chemistry and processes | |
410605. Soil physics | |
Public Notes | © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published online 29 Jul 2013. Users may not copy, distribute, transmit or otherwise reproduce, sell or resell any material nor add to any retrieval system or use in any paid service such as document delivery or list serve, or for use by any information brokerage or for systematic distribution, whether or not for commercial or non-profit use or for a fee or free of charge. |
Byline Affiliations | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia |
Department of Agriculture, United States | |
Australian Centre for Sustainable Catchments | |
Griffith University | |
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q20w9/soil-organic-carbon-dust-emission-an-omitted-global-source-of-atmospheric-co2
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