SHORT COMMUNICATION: Difficulties in using 137Cs to measure erosion in stubble-mulched soil

Abstract

Soil erosion may be difficult to quantify from redistribution of 137Cs at sites where stubble-mulch techniques were adopted prior to 137Cs deposition, because appreciable 137Cs may have been transported before it was mixed into the soil Ap layer. We present evidence that this occurred in two long-term cropping experiments in southern Alberta. Key words: Cesium-137, tillage, long-term crop rotations, fallow