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DustBusters reduce pollution, wind erosion: Though difficult to achieve, revegetation is best way to stabilize soil
Authors
David A. GrantzDavid L. Vaughn
Robert J. Farber
Bong Kim
Tony VanCuren
Rich Campbell
David Bainbridge
Tom Zink
Authors Affiliations
D.A. Grantz is Plant Physiologist and Extension Air Quality Specialist; D.L. Vaughn is Staff Research Associate, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences and Statewide Air Pollution Research Center, UC Riverside; R.J. Farber is Senior Research Scientist, Environmental Research Division, Southern California Edison Company, Rosemead; B. Kim is Air Quality Specialist, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Diamond Bar; T. VanCuren is Air Pollution Research Specialist, California Environmental Protection Agency-California Air Resources Board, Sacramento; R. Campbell is District Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lancaster; D. Bainbridge is Environmental Studies Coordinator, United States International University; T. Zink is Program Manager, Soil Ecology and Restoration Group, Department of Biology, San Diego State University.Publication Information
Hilgardia 52(4):8-13. DOI:10.3733/ca.v052n04p8. July 1998.
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Abstract
Surface disturbance in arid regions — whether it results from abandoned agriculture, overgrazing or recreational activities — often sets the stage for windblown fugitive dust. Revegetation provides the most sustainable soil stabilization but is difficult to achieve in any given year. Widely varying environmental conditions and soil factors make direct seeding unreliable, and transplanting of nursery-grown shrubs does not assure plant establishment, even with supplemental irrigation. In occasional years plants can be successfully established, particularly Atriplex canescens, in the western Mojave Desert. Once vegetation becomes established, it successfully stabilizes the soil surface and reduces blowing dust. However, because successful establishment is infrequent, reliable mitigation of fugitive dust requires that other techniques be used as well.
Further reading
Bainbridge DA. Soil compaction: A critical problem in land restoration. Land and Water. 1993. 37(1):42-3.
Carpenter DE, Barbou MG, Bahre CJ. Old field succession in Mojave Desert scrub. Madrono. 1986. 33(2):111-22.
Farber RJ, Kim B, Ashbaugh L, et al. PM10 air quality and micrometeorological measurements in Southern California's West Mojave Desert Antelope Valley. Paper No. 96-TP49A.06. 88th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association, San Antonio, TX. June 1995 1996.
Grantz DA, Vaughn DL, Farber RJ, et al. Stabilizing fugitive dust emissions in the Antelope Valley from abandoned farmlands and overgrazing. Paper No. 96-TP49A.05. 89th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association, Nashville, TN. June 1996 1996.
Grantz DA, Vaughn DL, Farber RJ, et al. Rapid methods to suppress fugitive dust and particulate air pollution from disturbed desert areas. Cal Ag. 1998. 52(4):14-8.
Jackson LL, McAuliffe JR, Roundy BA. Desert restoration. Restoration & Management Notes. 1991. 9(2):71-80. PubMed PMID: 18334894
Nakata JK, Wilshire HG, Barnes CG, Pewe TL. Origin of Mojave Desert dust storms photographed from space on January 1, 1973. Desert Dust: Origin, Characteristics, and Effect on Man 1981. Boulder, CO.: The Geological Society of America. pp.223-32.
USDA, SCS. Soil survey, Antelope Valley area, CA. Soil Conservation Service, U.S. 1970. Washington, D.C.: Department of Agriculture.
Wolfe SA, Nickling WG. The protective role of sparse vegetation in wind erosion. Progress in Physical Geography. 1993. 17(1):50-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/030913339301700104
Zeldin MD. Approaches for controlling windblown dust emissions in Southern California desert areas. Paper No. 94-FA145.01. 87th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association. Cincinnati, OH. June 1994 1994.
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