Weathering and Soils
Soils of El Yunque
The hydrologic and nutrient properties of surface soils in the Luquillo Mountains are considered to vary with lithology, vegetation, climate/elevation, and hillslope position. Rates of chemical weathering, landslide frequency, and physical erosion are also known to vary with lithology. Quantifying these relationships and determining their influence on other CZ processes is the primary focus of the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory. To address these questions we are conducting coordinated studies that investigate weathering and soil properties by lithology, vegetation, climate/elevation, and hillslope position. Available infrastructure includes shallow and deep observation wells and lysmeters, a network of soil sampling locations, and a soil archive.
Please see additional information in the LCZO data catalog.
Relevant background publications include:
Buss, Heather L., Peter B. Sak, Samuel M. Webb, and Susan L. Brantley. 2008. Weathering of the rio blanco quartz diorite, luquillo mountains, Puerto Rico: Coupling oxidation, dissolution, and fracturing. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 72, (18) (9/15): 4488-507.
Fletcher, R. C., H. L. Buss, and S. L. Brantley. 2006. A spheroidal weathering model coupling porewater chemistry to soil thicknesses during steady-state denudation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 244, :1444-57.
Frizano, Jacqueline, Arthur H. Johnson, David R. Vann, and Frederick N. Scatena. 2002. Soil phosphorus fractionation during forest development on landslide scars in the Luquillo mountains, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 34, (1) (Mar.): 17-26.
Riebe, Clifford S., James W. Kirchner, and Robert C. Finkel. 2004. Erosional and climatic effects on long-term chemical weathering rates in granitic landscapes spanning diverse climate regimes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 224: 547-62.
Schulz, Marjorie S., and Art F. White. 1999. Chemical weathering in a tropical watershed, Luquillo mountains, Puerto Rico III: Quartz dissolution rates. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta 63: 337-50.
