Synergistic soil, land use, and climate influences on wind erosion on the Colorado Plateau: Implications for management

• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164605
• Publication Date: 2023-06-01T19:10:45Z
• Authors: Travis W. Nauman; Seth M. Munson; Saroj Dhital; Nicholas P. Webb; Michael C. Duniway
• Keywords: Trampling

Two decades of drought in the southwestern USA are spurring concerns about increases wind erosion, dust emissions, and associated impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, human health, water supply. Different avenues investigation into primary drivers erosion have yielded mixed results depending spatial temporal sensitivity evidence. We monitored passive aeolian sediment traps from 2017 to 2020 across eighty-one sites near Moab, Utah understand patterns flux. At measurement sites, we collated climate, soil, topography vegetation layers better context then combined these data with field observations land use models characterize influence cattle grazing, oil gas well pads, vehicle/heavy equipment disturbance that potentially drive both exposure bare soil erodible supply increase vulnerability erosion. Disturbed areas low calcium carbonate content high transport dry years, but notably little had much less activity. Cattle grazing largest association erosional activity analyses suggesting herbivory trampling could be drivers. The amount distribution new sub-annual fractional cover remote sensing products proved very helpful mapping predictive maps informed by presented help depict Our suggest despite magnitude current droughts, minimizing surface vulnerable soils can mitigate a large portion emissions. Results managers identify eroding where reduction protection measures prioritized.