1. Continental United States Atmospheric Wet Calcium Deposition and Soil Inorganic Carbon Stocks.
- Author
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Goddard, Megan A., Mikhailova, Elena A., Post, Christopher J., Schlautman, Mark A., and Galbraith, John M.
- Subjects
HISTOSOLS ,CARBON in soils ,SOIL classification ,SOIL conservation ,CARBON cycle ,ATMOSPHERIC carbon dioxide ,SEQUESTRATION (Chemistry) ,ARID regions - Abstract
Organic and inorganic soil C pools are major components of the global C budget, yet they are still poorly estimated and understood. This study ranked atmospheric wet Ca
2+ deposition from 1994 to 2003 within the continental United States by soil order using spatial analysis of Ca2+ wet deposition data and a state soil geographic database. The total average annual atmospheric wet deposition (AAAWD) of Ca2+ within the continental United States was 8.6 x 108 kg, which would be equivalent to the theoretical formation of 2.6 x 108 kg C as soil inorganic C (SIC), barring losses from erosion and deep leaching. The soil orders receiving the highest area-normalized total AAAWD of Ca2+ were: (i) Alfisols (172 kg km-2 Ca2+ ), (ii) Mollisols (170 kg km-2 Ca2+ ), (iii) Histosols (168 kg km-2 Ca2+ , and (iv) Vertisols (157 kg km-2 Ca2+ ). Barring losses from erosion and leaching, these Ca2+ wet deposition fluxes would equate to the theoretical formation of the following amounts of area-normalized total C equivalents in the pedon: (i) Alfisols, 52 kg C km-2 (ii) Mollisols, 51 kg C km-2 (iii) Histosols, 50 kg C km-2 and (iv) Vertisols, 47 kg C km-2 . The sequestration of SIC has been shown to be important in soil orders of nonarid regions, particularly in Mollisols and Aluisols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2009
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