DYNAMICS OF NITROGEN AND CARBON CONTENT OF AEOLIAN DRY DEPOSITION IN AN ARID REGION

There is a comparatively large dry aeolian deposition in Negev Desert. The aim of this study was to quantify the contribution of this deposi tion and of deposited C and N pools. Amounts of aeolian dry deposition and airborne particle concentration near the ground were measured. To tal N and dissolvable organic C were determined in the deposited soil surface layer and in airborne particles. The annual mean airborne part icle concentration during 3 years varied from 100 to 113 mu g m(-3). T he deposited airborne particle accumulation (difference between the to tal deposition and deflation-erosion) varied from 110 to 220 g m(-1) y r(-1) at the two sites studied. The C and N content in the airborne pa rticles and in the dry deposit was significantly higher in the loessic al site than in the lithosol site. Considering the differences in the amounts of total dry deposition and the deposited C and N, it becomes possible to address the ecological role of the dry deposition in the e cosystem.