Responses of wind erosion to climate-induced vegetation changes on the Colorado Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Projected increases in aridity throughout the southwestern United States due to anthropogenic climate change will likely cause reductions in perennial vegetation cover, which leaves soil surfaces exposed to erosion. Accelerated rates of dust emission from wind erosion have large implications for ecosystems and human well-being, yet there is poor understanding of the sources and magnitude of dust emission in a hotter and drier climate. Here we use a two-stage approach to compare the susceptibility of grasslands and three different shrublands to wind erosion on the Colorado Plateau and demonstrate how climate can indirectly moderate the magnitude of aeolian sediment flux through different responses of dominant plants in these communities. First, using results from 20 y of vegetation monitori

SUBMITTER: Munson SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3053991 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature