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Changes in Soil Properties 30 Years After Grazing

Our preliminary work in and near Canyonlands National Park suggests that historical grazing (grazing that ended 30 years ago) can have long lasting impacts on soil biogeochemical cycles and physical properties. Because most of the soils around Canyonlands are covered by a biologic soil crust that is sensitive to disturbance, grazing can cause changes in wind erosion rates with long term implications for soil biogeochemistry. Some of these changes may include reductions in soil silt and clay content (these fractions are preferentially lost to wind erosion) (Figure 1) and reductions in soil C and N content (Table 1). We are currently expanding our work to determine whether these changes are common across a range of soil types or unique to the specific sites shown in the data below.

Figure 1: Changes in surface soil silt content following historical grazing (30 years ago).