On the Fundamental Causes of High Environmental Alkalinity (pH ≥ 9): An Assessment of Its Drivers and Global Distribution

• Published in: Land degradation & development Vol. 28; no. 7; pp. 1973 - 1981
• Main Authors: Jobbágy, Esteban G., Tóth, Tibor, Nosetto, Marcelo D., Earman, Sam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Alkaline soils; Alkalinity; alkalinization; Annual precipitation; atmospheric precipitation; Buffers; Calcite; carbon; Carbon dioxide; Cations; climate; Climate change; Digital Elevation Models; Discharge; Divalent cations; Evaporation; Evapotranspiration; geographical distribution; Groundwater; Hydrology; Inorganic carbon; irrigation; Irrigation practices; Landscape; landscapes; pH effects; rocks; Shallow water; Soil profiles; Soil properties; Soils; solonetz; Stagnation; Subhumid climates; vegetation; Water table

Very alkaline environments exceeding calcite buffering are globally rare but conspicuous in many sedimentary plains of the World. While the deleterious effects of high alkalinity on soils are well understood, less agreement exists on its causes. We revise these causes to understand these exceptional...