Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Exploring particle size distribution and organic carbon pools mobilized by different erosion processes at the catchment scale

  • SEDIMENTS, SEC 2 • PHYSICAL AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROCESSES • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
Journal of Soils and Sediments Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Selective water erosion of soil organic carbon (OC) has been reported to occur in small plots under field and laboratory conditions. However, little is known about how the process of OC erosion happens at larger scales. This study was conducted to assess the differences in the selectivity of OC between different erosion processes taking place within the same catchment.

Materials and methods

A geomorphological survey of the hillslope–streambed connections within a catchment in SE Spain was conducted to determine and select the dominant erosion forms to be studied. Undisturbed sediment samples were taken from deposits derived from four different erosion processes (gully, interrill, bank and tillage erosion) and from the streambed sediment bars. Soils of the three main land uses (forest, shrubland and agricultural fields) of the drainage area were also sampled to establish comparisons with the sampled sediments and determine the enrichment ratios. Different organic carbon pools (size fractions) and particle size distribution, both dispersed and non-dispersed, were studied in soils and sediments.

Results and discussion

All sediments were impoverished in OC compared to the source soils of the catchment. The largest differences were found between bank erosion and tillage erosion processes. Particle size distribution analysis indicated that soil particles were mainly being transported as aggregates. In addition, aggregates in the 250–63 μm size fraction seemed to contain primary silt and clay particles, which were positively correlated to total organic carbon. Bar sediments downstream in the streambed were impoverished in mineral-associated organic carbon, suggesting that this OC fraction can be carried further downstream by remaining in suspension longer due to its binding to smaller mineral particles.

Conclusions

In general terms, there are indications that different erosion processes can result in different organic carbon enrichment ratios. Although selectivity during detachment, transport and deposition results in a complex set of interactions that need further research and field-based data, in this study, the nature of the erosion process, the characteristics of the source material and the level of aggregation of soil particles were found to be important variables.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Avnimelech Y, McHenry JR (1984) Enrichment of transported sediments with organic carbon, nutrients and clay. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48:259–266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beuselinck L, Steegen A, Govers G, Nachtergaele J, Takken I, Poesen J (2000) Characteristics of sediment deposits formed by intense rainfall events in small catchments in the Belgian loam belt. Geomorphology 32:69–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boix-Fayos C, Barberá GG, López-Bermúdez F, Castillo VM (2007) Effects of check dams, reforestation and land-use changes on river channel morphology: Case study of the Rogativa catchment (Murcia, Spain). Geomorphology 91:103–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boix-Fayos C, de Vente J, Martinez-Mena M, Barberá GG, Castillo V (2008) The impact of land use change and check-dams on catchment sediment yield. Hydrol Process 22:4922–4935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boix-Fayos C, de Vente J, Albaladejo J, Martínez-Mena M (2009) Soil carbon erosion and stock as affected by land use changes at the catchment scale in Mediterranean ecosystems. Agric Ecosyst Environ 133:75–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cambardella CA, Elliot ET (1992) Particulate soil organic-matter changes across a grassland cultivation sequence. Soil Sci Soc Am J 56:777–783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Vente J, Poesen J (2005) Predicting soil erosion and sediment yield at the basin scale: scale issues and semi-quantitative models. Earth Sci Rev 71:95–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Stefano C, Ferro V, Palazzolo E, Panno M (2000) Sediment delivery processes and agricultural non-point pollution in a Sicilian Basin. J Agric Eng Res 77:103–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz-Hernández JL, Fernández EB, González JL (2003) Organic and inorganic carbon in soils of semiarid regions: a case study from the Guadix-Baza basin (Southeast Spain). Geoderma 114:65–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dong A, Chesters G, Simsiman GV (1983) Soil dispersibility. Soil Sci 136:208–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galy V, France-Lanord C, Lartiges B (2008) Loading and fate of particulate organic carbon from the Himalaya to the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 72:1767–1787

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ghadiri H, Rose CW (1991) Sorbed chemical transport in overland flow: II. Enrichment ratio variation with erosion processes. J Environ Qual 20:634–641

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gregorich EG, Greer KJ, Anderson DW, Liang BC (1998) Carbon distribution and losses: erosion and deposition effects. Soil Tillage Res 47:291–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haregeweyn N, Poesen J, Deckers J, Nyssen J, Haile M, Govers G, Verstraeten G, Moeyersons J (2008) Sediment-bound nutrient export from micro-dam catchments in Northern Ethiopia. Land Degrad Dev 19:136–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooke J (2003) Coarse sediment connectivity in river channel systems: a conceptual framework and methodology. Geomorphology 56:79–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (1978) Mapa geológico de España 1:50000. Nerpio 909:23–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Igwe CA (2000) Nutrient losses in runoff and eroded sediments from soils of central eastern Nigeria. Pol J Soil Sci 33:67–75

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jacinthe PA, Lal R, Owens LB, Hothem DL (2004) Transport of labile carbon in runoff as affected by land use and rainfall characteristics. Soil Tillage Res 77:111–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin K, Cornelis WM, Gabriels D, Baert M, Wu HJ, Schiettecatte W, Cai DX, De Neve S, Jin JY, Hartmann R, Hofman G (2009) Residue cover and rainfall intensity effects on runoff soil organic carbon losses. Catena 78:81–86

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn NJ (2007) Erodibility of soil and organic matter: independence of organic matter resistance to interrill erosion. Earth Surf Process Landf 32:794–802

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn NJ, Bryan RB (2004) Drying, soil surface condition and interrill erosion on two ontario soils. Catena 57:113–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn NJ, Hoffmann T, Schwanghart W, Dotterweich M (2009) Agricultural soil erosion and global carbon cycle: controversy over? Earth Surf Process Landf 34:1033–1038

    Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Mena M, López J, Almagro M, Boix-Fayos C, Albaladejo J (2008) Effect of water erosion and cultivation on the soil carbon stock in a semiarid area of South-East Spain. Soil Tillage Res 99:119–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez-Mena M, López J, Almagro M, Albaladejo J, Castillo V, Ortiz R, Boix-Fayos C (2011) Organic carbon enrichment in sediments: effects of rainfall characteristics under different land uses in a Mediterranean area. Catena. doi:10.1016/J.CATENA.2011.02.005

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore DC, Singer MJ (1990) Crust formation effects on soil erosion processes. Soil Sci Soc Am 54:1117–1123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nadeu E, Boix-Fayos C, De Vente J, López J, Martínez-Mena M (2010) Organic carbon mobilization by different erosive processes in the slope-channel connection. Movilización de carbono orgánico por distintos procesos erosivos en la conexión ladera-cauce. Pirineos 165:157–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mi N, Wang SQ, Liu JY, Yu GR, Zhang WJ, Jobbagy E (2008) Soil inorganic carbon storage pattern in China. Glob Chang Biol 14:2380–2387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owens LB, Malone RW, Hothem DL, Starr GC, Lal R (2002) Sediment carbon concentration and transport from small watersheds under various conservation tillage practices. Soil Tillage Res 67:65–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polyakov VO, Lal R (2004) Soil erosion and carbon dynamics under simulated rainfall. Soil Sci 169:590–599

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Quinton JN, Catt JA, Wood GA, Steer J (2006) Soil carbon losses by water erosion: experimentation and modeling at field and national scales in the UK. Agric Ecosyst Environ 112:87–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoton FE, Emmerich WE, Goodrich DC, Miller SN, McChesney DS (2006) Soil geomorphological characteristics of a semiarid watershed: influence on carbon distribution and transport. Soil Sci Soc Am J 70:1532–1540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie JC, McCarty GW, Venteris ER, Kaspar TC (2007) Soil and soil organic carbon redistribution on the landscape. Geomorphology 89:163–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez AR, Guerra A, Arbelo C, Mora JL, Gorrin SP, Armas C (2004) Forms of eroded soil organic carbon in andosols of the Canary Islands (Spain). Geoderma 121:205–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roose EJ, Lal R, Feller C, Barthès B, Stewart BA (2006) Soil erosion and carbon dynamics. In: Advances in soil science series. CRC, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Schiettecatte W, Gabriels D, Cornelis WM, Hofman G (2008a) Enrichment of organic carbon in sediment transport by interrill and rill erosion processes. Soil Sci Soc Am J 72:50–55

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schiettecatte W, Gabriels D, Cornelis WM, Hofman G (2008b) Impact of deposition on the enrichment of organic carbon in eroded sediment. Catena 72:340–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slattery MC, Burt TP (1997) Particle size characteristics of suspended sediment in hillslope runoff and stream flow. Earth Surf Process Landf 22:705–719

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starr GC, Lal R, Malone R, Hothem D, Owens L, Kimble J (2000) Modeling soil carbon transported by water erosion processes. Land Degrad Dev 11:83–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoltenberg NL, White JL (1953) Selective loss of plant nutrients by erosion. Soil Sci Soc Am J 17:406–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Oost K, Govers G, Quine TA, Heckrath G (2004) Comment on ‘Managing soil carbon’. Science 305:1567

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Govers G, Steegen A, Clymans W, Van den Putte A, Langhans C, Merckx R, Van Oost K (2010) Catchment-scale carbon redistribution and delivery by water erosion in an intensively cultivated area. Geomorphology 124:65–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warrington DN, Mamedov AI, Bhardwaj AK, Levy GJ (2009) Primary particle size distribution of eroded material affected by degree of aggregate slaking and seal development. Eur J Soil Sci 60:84–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeomans JC, Bremner JM (1988) A rapid and precise method for routine determination of organic carbon in soil. Comm Soil Sci Plan 19:1467–1476

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JH, Quine TA, Ni SJ, Ge FL (2006) Stocks and dynamics of SOC in relation to soil redistribution by water and tillage erosion. Glob Chang Biol 12:1834–1841

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng F, He X, Gao X, C-e Z, Tang K (2005) Effects of erosion patterns on nutrient loss following deforestation on the Loess Plateau of China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 108:85–97

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research has been financially supported by the following projects: ERCO (CGL-2007-62590/BTE), PROBASE (CGL2006-11619) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, ESUMA (11859/PI/09) of the Seneca Foundation of the Regional Government of Murcia, a CSIC Intramural Project (200840I170) and MIRAGE (FP7-ENV-2007-1) of the European Community. Elisabet Nadeu received funding from a predoctoral fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BES-2008-002379). Joris de Vente was contracted through the EU funded project DESIRE (037046): Desertification Mitigation and Remediation of Land—a global approach for local solutions, within the EC-DG RTD—6th Framework Research Programme (sub-priority 1.1.6.3)—Research on Desertification. We thank Loli Ruíz and Jorge López for their help in the field and laboratory work and Ellen Petticrew and two anonymous reviewers for their careful revision of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura (CEBAS-CSIC), Spanish Council for Scientific Research, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Elisabet Nadeu, María Martínez-Mena & Carolina Boix-Fayos

  2. Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Almería, Spain

    Joris de Vente

  3. School of Geosciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

    Joris de Vente

Authors
  1. Elisabet Nadeu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joris de Vente
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. María Martínez-Mena
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Carolina Boix-Fayos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elisabet Nadeu.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Ellen L. Petticrew

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nadeu, E., de Vente, J., Martínez-Mena, M. et al. Exploring particle size distribution and organic carbon pools mobilized by different erosion processes at the catchment scale. J Soils Sediments 11, 667–678 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0348-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0348-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation