@article {JRN54889, title = {Resolving dust emission responses to land cover change using an ecological land classification}, journal = {Aeolian Research}, volume = {32:141-153}, year = {2018}, month = {03/2018}, abstract = {

Despite efforts to quantify the impacts of land cover change on wind erosion, assessment uncertainty remains large. We address this uncertainty by evaluating the application of ecological site concepts and state-and-transition models (STMs) for detecting and quantitatively describing the impacts of land cover change on wind erosion. We apply a dust emission model over a rangeland study area in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA, and evaluate spatiotemporal patterns of modelled horizontal sediment mass flux and dust emission in the context of ecological sites and their vegetation states; representing a diversity of land cover types. Our results demonstrate how the impacts of land cover change on dust emission can be quantified, compared across land cover classes, and interpreted in the context of an ecological model that encapsulates land management intensity and change. Results also reveal the importance of established weaknesses in the dust model soil characterisation and drag partition scheme, which were largely insensitive to the impacts of land cover change. New models that address these weaknesses, coupled with ecological site concepts and field measurements across land cover types, could significantly reduce assessment uncertainties and provide opportunities for identifying land management options.

}, doi = {10.1016/j.aeolia.2018.03.001}, url = {files/bibliography/18-004.pdf}, author = {Magda Galloza and Nicholas Webb and M. Bleiweiss and Craig Winters and Jeffrey E. Herrick and E.L. Ayers} } @conference {JRN54496, title = {AERO: A decision support tool for wind erosion assessment in rangelands and croplands}, booktitle = {AGU Fall Meeting}, year = {2015}, month = {12/2015}, publisher = {American Geophysical Union}, organization = {American Geophysical Union}, address = {San Francisco, CA}, abstract = {

Wind erosion is a key driver of global land degradation, with on- and off-site impacts on agricultural production, air quality, ecosystem services and climate. Measuring rates of wind erosion and dust emission across land use and land cover types is important for quantifying the impacts and identifying and testing practical management options. This process can be assisted by the application of predictive models, which can be a powerful tool for land management agencies. The Aeolian EROsion (AERO) model, a wind erosion and dust emission model interface provides access by non-expert land managers to a sophisticated wind erosion decision-support tool. AERO incorporates land surface processes and sediment transport equations from existing wind erosion models and was designed for application with available national long-term monitoring datasets (e.g. USDI BLM Assessment, Inventory and Monitoring, USDA NRCS Natural Resources Inventory) and monitoring protocols. Ongoing AERO model calibration and validation are supported by geographically diverse data on wind erosion rates and land surface conditions collected by the new National Wind Erosion Research Network. Here we present the new AERO interface, describe parameterization of the underpinning wind erosion model, and provide a summary of the model applications across agricultural lands and rangelands in the United States.

}, author = {Magda Galloza and Nicholas Webb and Jeffrey E. Herrick} } @conference {JRN54209, title = { Evaluating soil erodibility dynamics to improve estimates of wind erosion in drylands }, booktitle = {18th International Soil Conservation Organization Conference}, year = {2015}, month = {05/2015}, address = {El Paso, Texas}, abstract = {

Wind erosion is a key driver of land degradation in the world{\textquoteright}s drylands. Soil loss and nutrient decline due to wind erosion increase the sensitivity of drylands to climate stressors. Better understanding the factors controlling wind erosion in drylands will provide a basis for identifying and testing best management practice options. Much remains unknown about the role of dynamic soil surface properties, such as erodible sediment supply and soil crusting, in controlling rates of wind erosion. This research evaluates the role of changing soil surface conditions in controlling the susceptibility of soils to wind erosion. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the entrainment threshold for five different undisturbed dryland soils; (2) evaluate the magnitude of horizontal mass flux and its relation to the entrainment threshold at the studied sites; and (3) to identify the impact of annual seasons when evaluating the temporal variability in entrainment threshold and horizontal mass flux. Although large differences in sediment flux were present among sites, only minimal differences in threshold wind speed were found among them, despite large differences in soil surface conditions. The results suggest that sediment transport was influenced strongly by the availability of loose erodible sediment and soil abrasion processes during transport. Inclusion of these factors in wind erosion models may reduce model uncertainty, enabling more accurate assessments of wind erosion under different land use and land management scenarios.

}, author = {Magda Galloza and Nicholas Webb and Teddy M. Zobeck and Jeffrey E. Herrick} }