How to make 137Cs erosion estimation more useful: An uncertainty perspective

Zhang, X.C.; Zhang, G.H.; Wei, Xiaoyang

doi:10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.10.004

Cited by 38 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(62 reference statements)

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“…These authors argue that the usual approach used when modelling erosion volumes from radionuclide inventories, i.e. comparing individual points at the suspected eroding site to single value representing the reference inventory ( usually the reference site mean), is problematic in that it ignores the contribution of random spatial variability and sampling error to the deviation of any point measurement from the reference mean (Kirchner, 2013;Zhang et al, 2015).…”

Section: Estimating Hillslope Erosion Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dixon and Riebe, 2014;Heimsath et al, 2002). These methods are each limited by the challenges of upscaling point measurements in time and space in relation to the representativeness of reference sites, the spatial heterogeneity of tracer fallout and transport and the issues of sediment storage and delivery (Chappell et al, 2011b;de Vente et al, 2007;Zhang et al, 2015). In addition, these methods provide data over different time periods, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimates of late Holocene soil production and erosion in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Stromsoe

Marx

Callow

et al. 2016

CATENA

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Soil production in actively uplifting or high precipitation alpine landscapes is potentially rapid. However, these same landscapes are also susceptible to erosion and can be sensitive to changes in climate and anthropogenic activity which can upset the balance between soil production and erosion. The Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia, are a tectonically stable, low relief, moderate precipitation mountain environment. The alpine area is extensively blanketed by soil that has been subjected to more intensive episodes of erosion during past periods of anthropogenic disturbance and under cold climate conditions of the late Quaternary. In this study, rates of soil development and hillslope erosion were investigated using radiocarbon dating, fallout radionuclides and sediment cores collected from lakes and reservoirs. Estimated Holocene soil development rates were 20-220 t/km2/y. Erosion rates determined from the radionuclides 137Cs and 210Pb were equivocal, due to the inherent spatial variability of radionuclide inventories relative to apparent erosion rates. Estimated average erosion rates over the past 100 years, determined from 210Pbex inventories, were 60 t/km2/y (95% CI: 10, 90). Inventories of 137Cs observed at the same site implied that more recent erosion rates (over the past 60 years) was below the detection limits of the sampling method applied here (i.e. /km2/y). The upper estimate of 90 t/km2/y is comparable to the mean erosion rate estimated using the radionuclide method for uncultivated sites in Australia and is significantly lower than that measured at sites were vegetation cover was disturbed by livestock grazing prior to its exclusion from the alpine area in the 1940s CE. Low erosion and high soil production rates relative to the lowland soils are likely related to extensive vegetation cover, which, in this context, protects soils against erosion and contributes to the formation of organic alpine soils, that rapidly accumulate organic matter by comparison to other soil types. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication DetailsStromsoe, N., Marx, S. K., Callow, N., McGowan, H. A. & Heijnis, H. (2016 AbstractSoil production in actively uplifting or high precipitation alpine landscapes is potentially rapid.However, these same landscapes are also susceptible to erosion and can be sensitive to changes in climate and anthropogenic activity which can upset the balance between soil production and erosion. The Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia, are a tectonically stable, low relief, moderate precipitation mountain environment. The alpine area is extensively blanketed by soil that has been subjected to more intensive episodes of erosion during past periods of anthropogenic disturbance and under cold climate conditions of the late Quaternary. In this study, rates of soil development and hillslope erosion were investigated using radiocarbon dating, fallout radionuclides and sediment cores collected from lakes and reservoirs. the mean erosion rate est...

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Section: Estimating Hillslope Erosion Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of late Holocene soil production and erosion in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Stromsoe

Marx

Callow

et al. 2016

CATENA

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“…Kachanoski & de Jong (1984) constructed a mass balance model to track the 137 Cs inventory in soil and its loss due to soil redistribution. In several subsequent studies, the mass balance model was modified or simplified and was broadly applied around the world, for example, Zhang et al (1990). The underlying assumption of all of these methods is that the loss of 137 Cs has a consistently related to the soil loss rate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validating a Basic Assumption of Using Cesium‐137 Method to Assess Soil Loss in a Small Agricultural Catchment

Fang

Shi

et al. 2017

Land Degrad Dev

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Although the fallout radionuclide 137Cs technique has been widely used to provide soil redistribution estimates in recent decades, some researchers have recently challenged the usefulness of this technique. Thus, it is necessary to evaluate the usefulness of the 137Cs technique to study soil redistribution, especially in areas that suffer from severe soil erosion and where the 137Cs inventory distributions vary. This study analyses the abundance of 137Cs deposited in sediment trapped by a check dam over 31 years in a small agriculture catchment in the Loess Plateau, which has experienced some of the most extensive agricultural soil erosion in the world. The 137Cs inventory and soil loss were evaluated, and the results indicated that the sediment deposition rate behind the check dam was approximately 38 cm/year. The specific soil erosion rate of the catchment is estimated to be 178 t ha−1 year−1. A geochemical properties fingerprinting method indicated that the ratio of the inter‐gully erosion from cropland to gully erosion was 0·46:0·54 during the investigated period of 31‐year period. Our results suggest that the 137Cs technique cannot be directly used in the study catchment. Gully erosion is the main type of soil erosion that occurs in the loess catchment, and the amount of gully erosion changes from year to year. Therefore, the abundance of 137Cs cannot be used to estimate soil redistribution where gully erosion is severe. However, after calibration, the inter‐gully soil loss was consistently related to 137Cs abundance, which means that the 137Cs technique can be used at the plot or slope scale on the Loess Plateau. Our results also reveal the particle‐size selectivity of soil detachment and sediment deposition during runoff‐erosion events. The average 137Cs content of the fine group couplets is 63% greater than the 137Cs content of the coarse group. When the studied section spans more than 15 years, the 137Cs inventory is consistent (R2 = 0·95, p < 0·01) with soil loss, which means that the selectivity may be offset over a long period. Our results confirm that the 137Cs method requires careful planning when applied at the catchment scale. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…These authors argue that the approach most frequently used when modelling erosion volumes from radionuclide inventories, i.e. comparing individual points at the suspected eroding site to a single value representing the reference inventory, usually the reference site mean, is problematic in that it ignores the contribution of random spatial variability and sampling error to the deviation of any point measurement from the reference mean (Kirchner, 2013;Zhang et al, 2015). In reality, the reference mean is unlikely to accurately represent the original inventory at the point in question (Wallbrink and Murray, 1996).…”

Section: Estimating Hillslope Erosion Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These methods are each limited by the challenges of upscaling point measurements in time and space in relation to the representativeness of reference sites, the spatial heterogeneity of tracer fallout and transport and the issues of sediment storage and delivery (Chappell et al, 2011b;de Vente et al, 2007;Zhang et al, 2015). In addition, all methods provide data over distinct time periods, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fate of atmospheric metal pollutants in the landscape, Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia

Stromsoe¹

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Industrial metals, emitted to the atmosphere by human activity, have been transported and deposited to almost every location on Earth, including Antarctica and Greenland. This is demonstrated by an increasing body of literature in which many atmospheric industrial metals (e.g. Pb, Hg, Cd and Cu) have been shown to be significantly enriched in environmental archives. Studies have largely focussed on peat mires and ice cores, which receive high rates of atmospheric deposition relative to terrestrial inputs. By contrast, few studies have examined the extent of atmospherically derived metals across the wider landscape, where processes such as pedogenesis, erosion and sedimentation affect the spatial extent and magnitude of metal enrichment. In the Snowy Mountains, Australia, atmospheric pollutant metals have previously been identified in alpine peat mires, although their impact on the wider environment has not been assessed. Interest in the fate of atmospheric pollutants in the Snowy Mountains has increased due to the operation of a cloud seeding program in which, silver iodide, AgI, is released to the atmosphere, leading to concerns that silver, Ag, contamination may be accumulating in this ecologically important region. This thesis examines the spatial extent and magnitude of atmospherically derived metals in the SnowyMountains by investigating patterns of enrichment in a range of geomorphic settings and catchment positions, including in soils, peat mires, lakes and reservoirs. The potential movement of metals through the landscape was also assessed by examining rates of geomorphic processes, including rates of pedogenesis and erosion, determined via radionuclides. The thesis was undertaken in three parts which are summarised below. by atmospheric deposition (ombrotrophic peat mires in the upper parts of catchments), the order and magnitude of metal enrichment most closely resembled that of collected aerosols, however, on average enrichment was 5-7 fold lower than in the aerosols. Metals most sensitive to enrichment, i.e., those with low natural abundance in local sediments (Cd, Ag, Sb, Mo), were enriched in all environments including the most geomorphically active settings (tarn lake sediments). In reservoirs, located lower in catchments, patterns of metal enrichment largely reflected concentrations in catchment soils but metals were additionally enriched or depleted depending on their relative particle reactivity. For those metals which are most sensitive to enrichment (Ag, Cd, Sb), the increase in excess flux required to reach trigger value concentrations is lowest in the reservoir sediments (Ag: 13-18, Cd: 7-10 and Sb: 17-61 times the current flux) and highest in the tarn lake (Ag: 60, Cd: 15, Sb: 27 times the current flux) and the peat mire (Ag: 74, Cd: 15, Sb: 18 times the current flux).In part three of this thesis, rates of soil production and soil erosion were quantified using radiocarbon dating, fallout radionuclides and sediment yields in lakes and reservoirs in order to assess the stability of l...

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How to make 137Cs erosion estimation more useful: An uncertainty perspective

Cited by 38 publications

References 32 publications

Estimates of late Holocene soil production and erosion in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Estimates of late Holocene soil production and erosion in the Snowy Mountains, Australia

Validating a Basic Assumption of Using Cesium‐137 Method to Assess Soil Loss in a Small Agricultural Catchment

The fate of atmospheric metal pollutants in the landscape, Snowy Mountains, south-eastern Australia

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