Terrain Influences on Soil Organic Carbon Translocation and Burial: Applications of High-Resolution Digital Elevation Models
Abstract
Soil disturbance and erosion in agricultural landscapes can play an important role in determining the long-term stability of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools. Tillage and erosion can enhance the degradation of SOC while downslope burial can effectively sequester SOC. The ability to determine the balance between degradation and burial processes is of critical importance for determining whether a landscape is a net source or sink of C. Soil movement is largely controlled by local topography, however tools to effectively apply topographic concepts to the broader landscape have been limited by the relatively coarse spatial resolution (10-30m) of commonly available digital elevation models (DEM). Here, we show that high resolution DEMs (1-3m) are suitable for capturing hillslope-scale topographic features that are most relevant to predicting soil erosion and deposition and we apply them to a series of Minnesota agricultural landscapes. By coupling SOC and 137Cs data (an isotope tracer for soil movement), we show that soil erosion and deposition can be an effective C sink over decadal timescales for our study sites. Ongoing research is aimed at contrasting results from different resolution DEMs. Finally, we evaluate broader trends in topography and SOC storage across Minnesota's agricultural landscape.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFM.B13G0597D
- Keywords:
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- 0428 BIOGEOSCIENCES Carbon cycling;
- 0486 BIOGEOSCIENCES Soils/pedology;
- 0402 BIOGEOSCIENCES Agricultural systems