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Role of Soil Erosion in Biogeochemical Cycling of Essential Elements: Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus
Journal article

Role of Soil Erosion in Biogeochemical Cycling of Essential Elements: Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus

  • Berhe, Asmeret Asefaw Life and Environmental Sciences Unit, University of California, Merced, California 95343, USA;
  • Barnes, Rebecca T. Environmental Program, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903, USA;
  • Six, Johan Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland;
  • Marín-Spiotta, Erika Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA;
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Published in:
  • Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. - Annual Reviews. - 2018, vol. 46, no. 1, p. 521-548
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Space and Planetary Science
Astronomy and Astrophysics
English Most of Earth's terrestrial surface is made up of sloping landscapes. The lateral distribution of topsoil by erosion controls the availability, stock, and persistence of essential elements in the terrestrial ecosystem. Over the last two decades, the role of soil erosion in biogeochemical cycling of essential elements has gained considerable interest from the climate, global change, and biogeochemistry communities after soil erosion and terrestrial sedimentation were found to induce a previously unaccounted terrestrial sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide. More recent studies have highlighted the role of erosion in the persistence of organic matter in soil and in the biogeochemical cycling of elements beyond carbon . Here we synthesize available knowledge and data on how erosion serves as a major driver of biogeochemical cycling of essential elements. We address implications of erosion-driven changes in biogeochemical cycles on the availability of essential elements for primary production, on the magnitude of elemental exports downstream, and on the exchange of greenhouse gases from the terrestrial ecosystem to the atmosphere. Furthermore, we explore fates of eroded material and how terrestrial mass movement events play major roles in modifying Earth's climate.
Language
  • English
Open access status
closed
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/274782
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