Late Quaternary eolian dust in surficial deposits of a Colorado Plateau grassland: Controls on distribution and ecologic effects

In a semi-arid, upland setting on the Colorado Plateau that is underlain by nutrient-poor Paleozoic eolian sandstone, alternating episodes of dune activity and soil formation during the late Pleistocene and Holocene have produced dominantly sandy deposits that support grass and shrub communities. These deposits also contain eolian dust, especially in paleosols. Eolian dust in these deposits is indicated by several mineralogic and chemical disparities with local bedrock, but it is most readily shown by the abundance of titaniferous magnetite in the sandy deposits that is absent in local bedrock. Magnetite and some potential plant nutrients (especially, P, K, Na, Mn, and Zn) covary positively with depth (3?4 m) in...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: CATENA, Colorado Platea, Dunes, Eolian dust, Late Quaternary, All tags... Paleosol, Soil formation, Soil nutrients, Fewer tags