Enhanced dust deposition by trees recently established on degraded rangeland

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand
• Main Authors: McGowan, H, Ledgard, N
• Other Authors: John Clement
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Royal Society of New Zealand 2005
• Subjects: Multidisciplinary Sciences; Degraded Rangeland; Wind Erosion; Dust Deposition; Foehn; Plantation; Soil Formation; Lake Tekapo; New-zealand; Transport; Basin; 269901 Physical Geography; C1; 770902 Land and water management; New Zealand; Mackenzie Basin
• Online Access: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:76704

Results from 2 years of dust deposition monitoring in a 10-year-old Pinus nigra plantation near Lake Tekapo are presented. They show that recently established plantations significantly enhance dust deposition rates. This could reverse a cycle of soil loss and enhance vertical accretion of soil, which would provide more options for future land use. However, observations indicate that even under such enhanced conditions for soil formation, it would take several thousand years to replace the soil lost to erosion since European farming practices were first introduced to the northern section of the Mackenzie Basin.