Rock weathering and nutrient cycling along an erodosequence

How flowing water and organisms can shape Earth9s surface, the Critical Zone, depends on how fast this layer is turned over by erosion. To quantify dependence of rock weathering cycling elements through ecosystems erosion we have used existing new metrics that partitioning between rock, saprolite, soil, plants, river dissolved solid loads. We demonstrate their utility at three sites along a global transect mountain landscapes differ in rates – an “erodosequence”. These are Swiss Central Alps, rapidly-eroding, post-glacial belt; Southern Sierra Nevada, USA, eroding moderate rates; slowly-eroding tropical Highlands Sri Lanka. The backbone analysis extensive data set water, plant geochemical isotopic data. This material properties converted into process using regolith production from cosmogenic nuclides loads, estimates biomass growth. Combined, these allow us to derive elemental fluxes vegetation. main findings are: 1) locally regolith, not rate which entire erode; 2) degree mainly controlled residence time. results supply-limited Lanka where runs completion kinetically-limited Alps Nevada soluble primary minerals persist; 3) characteristics reflected sites9 ecosystem processes, namely nutritive intensely recycled setting, directly taken up soil kinetically settings; 4) growth; 5) all find deficit solute export when compared extent differs elements. Plant uptake followed litter might explain for biologically utilized high solubility, rare, high-discharge flushing events colloidal-bound low solubility. Our begun serve calibrating metal isotope systems zone, ratios depend flux compartments Zone. application several companion papers.