Michael C. Duniway Nichloas P. Webb Jayne Belnap Travis W. Nauman 2018 <p><span>Dryland wind transport of sediment can accelerate soil erosion, degrade air quality, mobilize dunes, decrease water supply, and damage infrastructure. We measured aeolian sediment horizontal mass flux (</span><i>q</i><span>) at 100 cm height using passive aspirated sediment traps to better understand&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;variability on the Colorado Plateau. Measured&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>‘hot spots’ rival the highest ever recorded including 7,460 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>&nbsp;in an off‐highway vehicle (OHV) area, but were more commonly 50‐2,000 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>. Overall mean&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;on rangeland sites was 5.14 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>, considerably lower than areas with concentrated livestock use (9‐19 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>), OHV use (414 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>), and downwind of unpaved roads (13.14 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>), but were higher than areas with minimal soil disturbance (1.60 g m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;day</span>⁻¹<span>). Rangeland&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;increased with increasing annual temperature, increased winds, and decreasing precipitation. Spatial modeling suggests that ~92‐93% of regional&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;occurs in rangelands versus ~7‐8% along unpaved roads. Four of the five largest road&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>values (n=33) measured were along roads used primarily for oil or gas wells. Our findings indicate that predicted future mega‐droughts will increase&nbsp;</span><i>q</i><span>&nbsp;disproportionately in disturbed rangelands, and potentially further compromise air quality, hydrologic cycles, and other ecosystem services.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1002/esp.4457 en Wiley Elevated aeolian sediment transport on the Colorado Plateau, USA: The role of grazing, vehicle disturbance, and increasing aridity article