Trapping of airborne dust by mosses in the Negev Desert, Israel

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms - Tập 16 Số 2 - Trang 153-162 - 1991
Avinoam Danin1, E. Ganor2
1Department of Botany, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
2Research Institute for Environmental Health, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv Israel

Tóm tắt

AbstractAirborne silt and clay containing calcium carbonate, quartz, clays, marine nannoplankton, and aquatic diatoms are trapped among stems of mosses in the Negev Highlands Desert. The mosses were studied in an area with 70 mm mean annual rainfall. They grow over the particles covering them and trap additional dust as it comes, resulting in the accumulation of loess sediments. The mosses protect the accumulated soil from erosion by wind or water. Remnants of the moss leaves and stems were found at a depth of 15 mm and more. No particles or minerals typical to basalt were found in the moss‐trapped soil. The function of cushiony mosses may be used to explain the processes of loess trapping and protection in larger areas in moister areas such as the Northern Negev. Microscopic fossils in the dust may be used as guides to the origin of the (aeolian) sediments.

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Tài liệu tham khảo

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Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Tập 16 Số 2

153-162

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