Studies of Nutrient Cycling and Productivity in Oligotrophic Ecosystems: I. Soil Potassium and Wind-Blown Sea-Spray in a South Wales Dune Grassland

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Abstract
Analysis of soil from area dominated by Festuca rubra, from fore dunes and old dunes with Calluna vulgaris, shows that Ca is progressively leached from the surface layers of the soil, but there is not evidence of a similar leaching of K. Analysis of ground-water and of leachates from soil cores confirms that a downward transport of K must result from the annual excess of precipitation over calculated evaporation. Trapping of sea-spray shows that the K income to the dune system is likely to compensate for leaching loss and it is suggested that K income inhibits the weathering of K-containing minerals in the soil.