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The impact of agricultural soil erosion on biogeochemical cycling

Nature Geoscience volume 3, pages 311–314 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Soils are the main terrestrial reservoir of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and of organic carbon. Synthesizing earlier studies, we find that the mobilization and deposition of agricultural soils can significantly alter nutrient and carbon cycling. Specifically, erosion can result in lateral fluxes of nitrogen and phosphorus that are similar in magnitude to those induced by fertilizer application and crop removal. Furthermore, the translocation and burial of soil reduces decomposition of soil organic carbon, and could lead to long-term carbon storage. The cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus are strongly interrelated. For example, erosion-induced burial of soils stabilizes soil nutrient and carbon pools, thereby increasing primary productivity and carbon uptake, and potentially reducing erosion. Our analysis shows soils as dynamic systems in time and space.

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Figure 1: Global fluxes of sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus.
Figure 2: Interplay between soil erosion, land use/soil management and carbon cycling at sites of erosion.

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Acknowledgements

K.V.O is a research associate of the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), Belgium, and is supported by the Communauté Française de Belgique (convention number 09/14-022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK

    John N. Quinton & Richard D. Bardgett

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200E, Leuven, 3001, Belgium

    Gerard Govers

  3. Georges Lemaître Centre for Earth and Climate Research (TECLIM), Université catholique de Louvain, Place Louis Pasteur 3, Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348, Belgium

    Kristof Van Oost

Authors
  1. John N. Quinton
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  2. Gerard Govers
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  3. Kristof Van Oost
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  4. Richard D. Bardgett
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Contributions

J.Q. led the writing of the paper. K.V.O. conducted the model simulations and contributed to the writing, together with G.G. and R.B.

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Correspondence to John N. Quinton.

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Quinton, J., Govers, G., Van Oost, K. et al. The impact of agricultural soil erosion on biogeochemical cycling. Nature Geosci 3, 311–314 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo838

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