Dust supply varies with sagebrush microsites and time since burning in experimental erosion events

Sankey, Joel B.; Germino, Matthew J.; Glenn, Nancy F.

doi:10.1029/2011jg001724

Cited by 23 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 91 publications

(132 reference statements)

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“…The REE tracer analysis of wind‐borne sediments from the burned replicate plots indicates that the Q is primarily composed of particles from the bare and shrub microsites (Figure b). These shrub microsites were found to be the most active sediment sources following the fire, which corroborates experiments based on different methods in other burned desert shrublands (Sankey, Germino, & Glenn, ). Greater enrichment of shrub tracers in grass microsites than vice versa indicates that the grass microsites became a significant sediment sink following the fire (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Furthermore, burning of vegetative biomass at the surface can induce soil water repellency, which has been shown to enhance postfire soil erosion by decreasing the interparticle forces due to moisture in soils (DeBano, ; Ravi et al, , ). Recent studies using wind tunnels and small‐scale field experiments have qualitatively demonstrated that in shrublands and shrub‐grass transition zones fires can enhance soil erosion under raised shrub vegetated microsites (i.e., small‐scale patches representing the different surface cover types) and result in some level of sediment redistribution to the deflated interspaces (Ravi et al, ; Sankey, Germino, & Glenn, ; Sankey, Germino, Sankey, & Hoover, ; Sankey, Ravi, et al, ; White et al, ). Modeling studies have indicated that shrub recruitment and growth at an early stage of encroachment can be controlled with lower grazing intensity and recurrent prescribed or natural fires (Ravi & D'Odorico, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying Postfire Aeolian Sediment Transport Using Rare Earth Element Tracers

et al. 2018

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Grasslands, which provide fundamental ecosystem services in many arid and semiarid regions of the world, are undergoing rapid increases in fire activity and are highly susceptible to postfire‐accelerated soil erosion by wind. A quantitative assessment of physical processes that integrates fire‐wind erosion feedbacks is therefore needed relative to vegetation change, soil biogeochemical cycling, air quality, and landscape evolution. We investigated the applicability of a novel tracer technique—the use of multiple rare earth elements (REE)—to quantify soil transport by wind and to identify sources and sinks of wind‐blown sediments in both burned and unburned shrub‐grass transition zone in the Chihuahuan Desert, NM, USA. Results indicate that the horizontal mass flux of wind‐borne sediment increased approximately threefold following the fire. The REE tracer analysis of wind‐borne sediments shows that the source of the horizontal mass flux in the unburned site was derived from bare microsites (88.5%), while in the burned site it was primarily sourced from shrub (42.3%) and bare (39.1%) microsites. Vegetated microsites which were predominantly sinks of aeolian sediments in the unburned areas became sediment sources following the fire. The burned areas showed a spatial homogenization of sediment tracers, highlighting a potential negative feedback on landscape heterogeneity induced by shrub encroachment into grasslands. Though fires are known to increase aeolian sediment transport, accompanying changes in the sources and sinks of wind‐borne sediments may influence biogeochemical cycling and land degradation dynamics. Furthermore, our experiment demonstrated that REEs can be used as reliable tracers for field‐scale aeolian studies.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Postfire Aeolian Sediment Transport Using Rare Earth Element Tracers

et al. 2018

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“…There is also a strong variability of soils in semi-arid ecosystems associated with the location of individual plants (Charley and West 1975, Burke et al 1989a, Burke et al 1989b, Hook et al 1991, Schlesinger et al 1996, Sankey et al 2012a). This fine-scale heterogeneity in soil organic matter, which is concentrated under individual shrubs relative to interspaces, is a well-recognized feature of sagebrush ecosystems, with indications that it is responsive to changes in ecosystem management (Burke et al 1987, Sankey et al 2012b.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural recovery of soil organic matter in 30–90‐year‐old abandoned oil and gas wells in sagebrush steppe

Avirmed¹,

Burke²,

Mobley³

et al. 2014

Ecosphere

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Abstract. We addressed the rarely studied issue of how different soil organic matter pools respond to disturbances from historical oil and gas well development in semi-arid Intermountain sagebrush steppe. We selected twenty-nine study well sites in south-central Wyoming that were plugged and abandoned 33-90 years ago. We designed our study to understand the long term impact of oil and gas development for soil organic matter pools on non-reclaimed sites, and evaluate the importance of this disturbance type relative to other major influences on soil organic matter and the fine-scale, shrub-induced heterogeneity of soil organic matter. We compared total, labile, and recalcitrant pools of soil C and N in disturbed sites to adjacent, un-disturbed sites. We found that that natural site-specific conditions such as soil texture and fine-scale heterogeneity associated with shrubs are the most important controls over soil C and N, particulate organic matter C and N, and potential C and N mineralization, and that these older well-pad disturbances did not have a significant effect on any soil organic matter pools. Fine-scale, shrub-induced heterogeneity was higher for those pools that have a fast turnover rate than those with a slow turnover rate. Moreover, fine-scale heterogeneity of total soil C was higher for well sites that were located in loamy sand soils compared to well sites on sandy soils. In addition, heterogeneity of total soil C recovered through time on the finer textured soils. Overall our study suggests that soil organic matter pools were not affected by old oil well development, and that recovery of shrub cover is a key component of soil organic matter recovery in these semi-arid shrublands. A comparison of our work to other work on recent and reclaimed sites suggests that some reclamation procedures may decrease soil organic matter more than the absence of reclamation.

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“…Field reconnaissance observed considerable redistribution of wind‐detached sediment and organic debris into hillslope hollows or swales throughout MCEW over the first month after the fire (Figure ; Vega, ). Sediment and debris redistribution by aeolian processes during this period were not quantified for logistical reasons, but field‐observed trends in wind erosion and subsequent sediment and debris deposition were consistent with those reported for the immediate post‐fire period in numerous wind erosion studies of sagebrush steppe (Sankey et al, , , , ; Wagenbrenner et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interaction of wind and cold‐season hydrologic processes on erosion from complex topography following wildfire in sagebrush steppe

Vega

Williams

Brooks

et al. 2020

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Wildfire is a natural component of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe rangelands that induces temporal shifts in plant community physiognomy, ground surface conditions, and erosion rates. Fire alteration of the vegetation structure and ground cover in these ecosystems commonly amplifies soil losses by wind‐ and water‐driven erosion. Much of the fire‐related erosion research for sagebrush steppe has focused on either erosion by wind over gentle terrain or water‐driven erosion under high‐intensity rainfall on complex topography. However, many sagebrush rangelands are geographically positioned in snow‐dominated uplands with complex terrain in which runoff and sediment delivery occur primarily in winter months associated with cold‐season hydrology. Current understanding is limited regarding fire effects on the interaction of wind‐ and cold‐season hydrologic‐driven erosion processes for these ecosystems. In this study, we evaluated fire impacts on vegetation, ground cover, soils, and erosion across spatial scales at a snow‐dominated mountainous sagebrush site over a 2‐year period post‐fire. Vegetation, ground cover, and soil conditions were assessed at various plot scales (8 m2 to 3.42 ha) through standard field measures. Erosion was quantified through a network of silt fences (n = 24) spanning hillslope and side channel or swale areas, ranging from 0.003 to 3.42 ha in size. Sediment delivery at the watershed scale (129 ha) was assessed by suspended sediment samples of streamflow through a drop‐box v‐notch weir. Wildfire consumed nearly all above‐ground live vegetation at the site and resulted in more than 60% bare ground (bare soil, ash, and rock) in the immediate post‐fire period. Widespread wind‐driven sediment loading of swales was observed over the first month post‐fire and extensive snow drifts were formed in these swales each winter season during the study. In the first year, sediment yields from north‐ and south‐facing aspects averaged 0.99–8.62 t ha−1 at the short‐hillslope scale (~0.004 ha), 0.02–1.65 t ha−1 at the long‐hillslope scale (0.02–0.46 ha), and 0.24–0.71 t ha−1 at the swale scale (0.65–3.42 ha), and watershed scale sediment yield was 2.47 t ha−1. By the second year post fire, foliar cover exceeded 120% across the site, but bare ground remained more than 60%. Sediment yield in the second year was greatly reduced across short‐ to long‐hillslope scales (0.02–0.04 t ha−1), but was similar to first‐year measures for swale plots (0.24–0.61 t ha−1) and at the watershed scale (3.05 t ha−1). Nearly all the sediment collected across all spatial scales was delivered during runoff events associated with cold‐season hydrologic processes, including rain‐on‐snow, rain‐on‐frozen soils, and snowmelt runoff. Approximately 85–99% of annual sediment collected across all silt fence plots each year was from swales. The high levels of sediment delivered across hillslope to watershed scales in this study are attributed to observed preferential loading of fine sediments into swale channels by aeolian processes in ...

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Dust supply varies with sagebrush microsites and time since burning in experimental erosion events

Cited by 23 publications

References 91 publications

Quantifying Postfire Aeolian Sediment Transport Using Rare Earth Element Tracers

Quantifying Postfire Aeolian Sediment Transport Using Rare Earth Element Tracers

Natural recovery of soil organic matter in 30–90‐year‐old abandoned oil and gas wells in sagebrush steppe

Interaction of wind and cold‐season hydrologic processes on erosion from complex topography following wildfire in sagebrush steppe

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