Historical land use change has lowered terrestrial silica mobilization.
Continental export of Si to the coastal zone is closely linked to the ocean carbon sink and to the dynamics of phytoplankton blooms in coastal ecosystems. Presently, however, the impact of human cultivation of the landscape on terrestrial Si fluxes remains unquantified and is not incorporated in models for terrestrial Si mobilization. In this paper, we show that land use is the most important controlling factor of Si mobilization in temperate European watersheds, with sustained cultivation (>250 years) of formerly forested areas leading to a twofold to threefold decrease in baseflow delivery of Si. This is a breakthrough in our understanding of the biogeochemical Si cycle: it shows that human cultivation of the landscape should be recognized as an important controlling factor of terrestrial Si fluxes.
Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Ecosystem Management Research Group, Universiteitsplein 1C, Wilrijk B2610, Belgium.
Eric
E
Struyf
Adriaan
A
Smis
Stefan
S
Van Damme
Josette
J
Garnier
Gerard
G
Govers
Bas
B
Van Wesemael
Daniel J
DJ
Conley
Okke
O
Batelaan
Elisabeth
E
Frot
Wim
W
Clymans
Floor
F
Vandevenne
Christiane
C
Lancelot
Peter
P
Goos
Patrick
P
Meire