ARS | Publication request: Carbonaceous materials in soil-derived dusts

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: August 15, 2008
Publication Date: March 11, 2009
Citation: Van Pelt, R.S., Zobeck, T.M. 2009. Carbonaceous materials in soil-derived dusts. In: Lal, R. and Follett, R.F. Soil Carbon Sequestration and the Greenhouse Effect. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America. p. 365-392.

Interpretive Summary: The role of greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide, in forcing global climate change has prompted research into the sequestration of carbon into soils. Soil management systems may profoundly affect the carbon content possible in a given soil series and locality. Wind erosion of soil results in significant amounts of fugitive dust that contains a disproportionately high concentration of organic and inorganic forms of carbon. This dust is transported on prevailing winds and is deposited in various ways and in various regions. This book chapter explores and discusses what is known about the dynamics of carbon on soil-derived dust.

Technical Abstract: Wind erosion affects over 500 million ha of land worldwide and creates between 500 and 5000 Tg of fugitive dust annually. This dust carries a disproportionate amount of organic and inorganic carbon when compared to the soil of origin. This loss of soil carbon degrades the soil of origin and may result in agroecosystems that are not sustainable. The carbon on the dust may be deposited on land, deposited into the oceans, or it may be transformed in the atmosphere during transport. This chapter details the pathways and processes affecting soil carbon on aeolian dust.