Exploratory study of erosion in cultivated organic soils using cesium-137 measurements

Concerns about the sustainability of cultivated organic soils in Montérégie (Quebec, Canada), which can also be identified as histosols, led to this exploratory study aimed at quantifying erosion in these soils by using cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) measurements. Soil samples were taken from organic soils in twenty-two fields, and their ¹³⁷Cs contents were measured by gamma spectrometry. The estimated mean annual erosion rates (±SD), adjusted with cropping history, ranged from 0.4 ± 6.3 to 14.6 ± 10.7 t/ha. The results obtained are lower than expected, based on information provided by the agricultural producers from whose farms the samples were taken, as well as two studies conducted in the same study area that highlight the importance of cultivated organic soil height loss due to wind erosion. Recommendations are formulated to obtain more precise erosion rates in future research. This study also points out aspects that deserve to be investigated to adapt existing conversion models for erosion assessment using ¹³⁷Cs measurements in cultivated organic soils.