Soil Carbon Lost in Massive Wind Storms as Climate Changes

Carbon is a part of our Earth's natural cycles. In soil, it helps sustain plant growth and nurture crops. Now, though, this carbon is increasingly at risk of being blown away. Scientists have discovered that a large amount of carbon is being picked up by wind and is being hurled into the ocean.

In Australia, carbon is essential for healthy soils. It underpins the country's capability to grow enough food to feed the 60 million people that live there. Therefore, understanding the movement of carbon through the landscape is crucial to help improve the quality of soils and support farmers in the area. In fact, a recent dust storm in Australia in 2009 cost the economy of New South Wales an estimated $300 million. 

The scientists calculated the carbon dust emissions and their extent. They found that Australian soils are losing about 1.6 million tons of carbon per year from wind erosion and dust storms. This greatly affects agricultural productivity, economy and carbon accounts.

"Australia's carbon accounts, and even global carbon accounts, have not yet taken wind or water erosion into consideration and when this happens it could have significant impacts on how we manage our landscapes," said Adrian Chappell, one of the researchers, in a news release. "While soil organic carbon lost through dust is not a major contributor to Australia's total emissions, it is a major factor in our deteriorating soil health."

This isn't just an issue for Australia, either. Other countries, including the USA, with large dust emissions may face similar challenges when including wind borne dust in their carbon accounting. What is worrisome, though, is that researchers predict that dust storms are likely to increase in Australia, which means the impact of wind erosion will also increase.

"We need to understand the impact of this dust carbon cycle to develop more accurate national global estimates of carbon balances and to be able to prepare for life in a changing climate," said Chappell.

The findings are published in the journal Global Change Biology.