Volcanic Ash, Insecurity for the People but Securing Fertile Soil for the Future

Dian Fiantis, Frisa Irawan Ginting, Gusnidar, M. Nelson and Budiman Minasny
Additional contact information
Dian Fiantis: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Andalas University, Kampus Limau Manis, Padang 25163, Indonesia
Frisa Irawan Ginting: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Andalas University, Kampus Limau Manis, Padang 25163, Indonesia
Gusnidar: Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Andalas University, Kampus Limau Manis, Padang 25163, Indonesia
M. Nelson: Department of Estate Crops, Payakumbuh, Agriculture Polytechnic Institute, Kampus Politani Tanjung Pati, 50 Kota, West Sumatra 26271, Indonesia
Budiman Minasny: School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, 1 Central Avenue, The Australian Technology Park, Eveleigh, NSW 2015, Australia

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Volcanic eruptions affect land and humans globally. When a volcano erupts, tons of volcanic ash materials are ejected to the atmosphere and deposited on land. The hazard posed by volcanic ash is not limited to the area in proximity to the volcano, but can also affect a vast area. Ashes ejected from volcano’s affect people’s daily life and disrupts agricultural activities and damages crops. However, the positive outcome of this natural event is that it secures fertile soil for the future. This paper examines volcanic ash (tephra) from a soil security view-point, mainly its capability. This paper reviews the positive aspects of volcanic ash, which has a high capability to supply nutrients to plant, and can also sequester a large amount of carbon out of the atmosphere. We report some studies around the world, which evaluated soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation since volcanic eruptions. The mechanisms of SOC protection in volcanic ash soil include organo-metallic complexes, chemical protection, and physical protection. Two case studies of volcanic ash from Mt. Talang and Sinabung in Sumatra, Indonesia showed the rapid accumulation of SOC through lichens and vascular plants. Volcanic ash plays an important role in the global carbon cycle and ensures soil security in volcanic regions of the world in terms of boosting its capability. However, there is also a human dimension, which does not go well with volcanic ash. Volcanic ash can severely destroy agricultural areas and farmers’ livelihoods. Connectivity and codification needs to ensure farming in the area to take into account of risk and build appropriate adaptation and resilient strategy.

Keywords: Sinabung volcano; pyroclastic deposits; carbon sequestration; soil rejuvenation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3072/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3072/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3072-:d:235896

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().