Moore, OW, Buss, HL, Green, SM et al. (2 more authors) (2017) The importance of non-carbonate mineral weathering as a soil formation mechanism within a karst weathering profile in the SPECTRA Critical Zone Observatory, Guizhou Province, China. Acta Geochimica, 36 (3). pp. 566-571. ISSN 2096-0956
Abstract
Soil degradation, including rocky desertification, of the karst regions in China is severe. Karst landscapes are especially sensitive to soil degradation as carbonate rocks are nutrient-poor and easily eroded. Understanding the balance between soil formation and soil erosion is critical for long-term soil sustainability, yet little is known about the initial soil forming processes on karst terrain. Herein we examine the initial weathering processes of several types of carbonate bedrock containing varying amounts of non-carbonate minerals in the SPECTRA Critical Zone Observatory, Guizhou Province, Southwest China. We compared the weathering mechanisms of the bedrock to the mass transfer of mineral nutrients in a soil profile developed on these rocks and found that soil formation and nutrient contents are strongly dependent upon the weathering of interbedded layers of more silicate-rich bedrock (marls). Atmospheric inputs from dust were also detected.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | Critical zone; Chemical weathering; Karst; Desertification; Guizhou Province |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Jan 2018 12:51 |
Last Modified: | 12 May 2019 18:08 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Verlag |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s11631-017-0237-4 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:126071 |