Geomorphic controls on availability of weathering-derived nutrients across an erosional gradient in the Andes

Rock-derived nutrients are thought to play important roles in determining ecosystem productivity and function, particularly in tropical forests. Variation in the availability of key nutrients such as P and Ca has been attributed to changes in the supply from chemical weathering of bedrock minerals, with a general conceptual model that younger soils with higher weathering rates are capable of supplying more nutrients compared to older soils with lower weathering rates (e.g. Vitousek et al., 2003). In this study we present data from an elevational gradient in the eastern Andes of Peru, illustrating how the relationship between weathering and nutrient availability is manifest in an active erosional system. Our data suggest that weathering, driven by erosional supply of primary minerals, is important in supplying nutrients. However, there is complexity in this relationship that may be associated with the geomorphic controls on weathering geochemistry and hydrochemistry, including weathering that takes place at greater depths when erosion rates are higher (e.g. West, 2012). We compare measured weathering rates with nutrient status of soils and vegetation across a transect from high elevations in the Andes to low elevations in the foreland floodplain. Weathering rates determined from the dissolved chemistry of river samples are highest at high elevation sites in the Andes. Mineral weathering rates are significant in the floodplain, which we attribute to chemical reworking of material eroded from the Andes, but rates of mineral weathering are not as high in the floodplain as in the montane sites. Although Ca supply is highest in the mountains, the foliar Ca and Ca available in soils is lower than in the floodplain. We will explore hydrochemical reasons for this difference, which may be due to where Ca release takes place relative to the vegetation root zone. We will also explore the supply of P from weathering in relation to observed nutrient availability, based on preliminary measurements of phosphate in dissolved and sediment samples. Vitousek, P., et al. 2003. Erosion and the rejuvenation of weathering-derived nutrient supply in an old tropical landscape. Ecosystems 6: 762-772. West, A.J. 2012. Thickness of the weathering zone and implications for erosional and climatic drivers of weathering. Geology 40: 811-814.