- Title
- Using environmental tracers to understand soil organic carbon and soil erosion on a steep slope hillslope in south-east Australia
- Creator
- Hancock, G. R.
- Relation
- ARC.DP110101216 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP110101216
- Relation
- Soil Research Vol. 61, Issue 6, p. 616-625
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/SR22263
- Publisher
- CSIRO
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2023
- Description
- Context: It is well recognised that soil organic carbon (SOC) can be transported and deposited along the same pathways as those of soil erosion and deposition. Aims: To examine the viability of environmental tracers 137Cs and unsupported 210Pb (210Pbex) as tools to inform soil erosion and deposition patterns as well as that of the distribution of SOC. Methods: Multiple soil cores were collected along two transects of similar length and aspect in a steep-slope soil mantled environment in south-east Australia. Key results: Average SOC concentration was high for both transects (~6% and 4%). SOC decreased moving downslope suggesting loss of SOC by erosion. There were strong and significant positive relationships of SOC with 137Cs and 210Pbex (both r > 0.77, P < 0.0001). At this site, SOC concentration appears related to erosion and deposition patterns. Conclusion: The hillslope distribution of 137Cs and 210Pbex were very similar, indicating that both tracers were viable in this environment (r = 0.9, P < 0.0001). The different origins and half-lives of 137Cs and 210Pbex also demonstrate that the patterns of erosion and deposition are consistent at decadal time scales. Implications: The use of 210Pbex provides an alternative method for understanding erosion and deposition patterns as well as that of SOC, given that the viability of 137Cs (half-life of 30.1 years) is now questionable due to no new replenishment.
- Subject
- 137Cs; 210Pb; 210Pbex; carbon sequestration; lead-210; sediment transport
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1486646
- Identifier
- uon:51915
- Identifier
- ISSN:1838-675X
- Rights
- © 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND). (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Hits: 902
- Visitors: 935
- Downloads: 41
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Publisher version (open access) | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |