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Title: IMPACTS OF SOIL EROSION ON THE PRODUCTION AND EMISSION OF GREENHOUSE GASES AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES

Author
item LOBB, DAVID - UNIV. OF MANITOBA
item BURTON, DAVID - UNIV. OF MANITOBA
item LINDSTROM, MICHAEL - COLLABORATOR
item Reicosky, Donald

Submitted to: OECD Expert Meeting on Soil Organic Indicators for Agricultural Lands
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/18/2002
Publication Date: 10/18/2002
Citation: LOBB, D.A., BURTON, D.L., LINDSTROM, M.J., REICOSKY, D.C. IMPACTS OF SOIL EROSION ON THE PRODUCTION AND EMISSION OF GREENHOUSE GASES AND CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIES. PROCEEDINGS OF OECD EXPERT MEETING. 2002. P. 235-244.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil erosion by wind, water and tillage results in the redistribution of vast quantities of soil within the landscapes of the Canadian prairies. The magnitude of this redistribution is greatest in landscapes that are topographically complex and intensively tilled. Eroded soil either remains within the cultivated area of the landscape (the field) or it is transported to the field boundary or beyond the adjacent lands and waters. Soil that is rich in organic carbon and nitrogen is lost from the upper slopes of hills and accumulates in lower slopes. In many landscapes, as soil is lost from hilltops, subsoil that is poor in organic carbon and rich in inorganic carbon is exposed to the surface. In landscapes that are or have been intensively tilled, these losses and accumulations of soil can exceed 100 cm in depth. As a consequence of tillage and the resulting soil erosion, the distribution of materials that are required to produce greenhouse gases (CO2 and N2O) has been dramatically altered -- some source materials are buried while others may be exposed. This paper examines the potential impacts of soil erosion on the production and emission of these gases and on the sequestration of carbon. These impacts are demonstrated to have the potential to be very significant and require better understanding to accurately access greenhouse gas dynamics.