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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #296006

Title: Implications of carbon dust emission for terrestrail carbon cycling and carbon accounting

Author
item WEBB, NICHOLAS - New Mexico State University
item CHAPPELL, ADRIAN - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item BUTLER, HARRY - University Of South Australia
item STRONG, CRAIG - Griffiths University
item MCTAINSH, GRANT - Griffiths University
item LEYS, JOHN - New South Wales Agriculture

Submitted to: American Geophysical Union
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/20/2012
Publication Date: 12/3/2012
Citation: Webb, N., Chappell, A., Butler, H., Strong, C., Mctainsh, G., Leys, J. 2012. Implications of carbon dust emission for terrestrail carbon cycling and carbon accounting [abstract]. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 3-7, 2012, San Francisco, California. A33D-0184.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Wind erosion preferentially removes the finest carbon- and nutrient-rich soil fractions, and consequently its role may be significant within terrestrial carbon (C) cycles. However, the impacts of wind erosion on soil organic carbon (SOC) redistribution are not considered in most carbon cycle models, or within national carbon accounting schemes. Current estimates of the loss of SOC to wind erosion do not consider the preferential removal and enrichment of SOC in dust emissions, and consequently underestimate the significance of carbon dust emissions for the carbon cycle and carbon accounting. We present a process-based approximation of SOC enrichment within the Computational Environmental Management System (CEMSYS v5) Australian national wind erosion model. It enabled the prediction of carbon dust emission at a 50 km spatial resolution across Australia each month from 2000–2011. Our results show that the total dust emission for Australia is 118 Mt yr-1, with carbon dust emissions (<22 µm) in the order of 1.59 Mt yr-1. Rangelands are found to produce ~84% of Australia’s carbon dust emissions (1.34 Mt yr-1), while agricultural lands produce 0.11 Mt yr-1. However, agricultural lands produce larger carbon dust emissions per km2 than rangelands. The long-distance transport of SOC by wind is expected to result in large mineralisation rates due to (e.g.) photochemical oxidation, and the release of up to 5.9 Mt CO2-e yr-1. These results on the loss of SOC in dust, and the release of CO2 during long-distance transport, demonstrate the need for aeolian processes to be given greater significance in terrestrial carbon cycling, and for them to be incorporated into carbon accounting systems.