From 10,000 to 5000 years ago, the Sahara Desert was wet, green, and covered with lakes! Over those thousands of years, minerals precipitated out of the water and were deposited on the lake beds. Now that it is a dry desert, high temperatures cause rapidly rising hot air currents to lift those minerals high into the atmosphere, where prevailing western winds carry the dust across the Atlantic to the Americas.
While the dust movement varies in intensity over time, it is almost always present to some degree. In the winter, dust is typically sent to South America. In the summer, it sends the clouds toward North America.
The effects of the dust on human respiratory allergies are regrettable, but plants love the minerals contained in the dust, primarily the phosphorus and iron. Saharan dust is a primary nutrient source of the Amazon rain forest, the “lungs of the world”, enabling the production of oxygen and the sequestering of carbon dioxide. For plants, and us, as we depend on them, this brown cloud does have a silver lining.
-James Gill
16 Comments on “Saharan Dust – Bad for Your Plants?”
So interesting!! Thanks!
I’m so glad to know all this. So this has happened for centuries and it’s good for plants! I like that!
Love to hear the positive side of the saharan dust.
Thank you for the information. My yard is a verdant oasis.
Thank you for sharing the positive effects of the dust.
Until now I only saw it as a negative.
Thanks for your research James, love the “Silver Lining”.
Thank you so much for sharing the information, because my allergies flare up more so than usual when this happens and I stay indoors. But I am glad that our plants benefit from this occurrence. Thanks for brightening my day!!!
Thanks for your blogs. So full of good and helpful information!!
Thanks for the info . I was not aware of that. My allergies on the other hand will kick up a few notches.
Thank you for giving us an upside to the Sahara Dust. We all have something positive to thing about as we deal with our allergies.
Hi,could you send me sample of this dust?I would love to have some.I am interested in it.Appreciate if you answer.Please answer me.
There is always an infinitesimal amount of dust traveling, but our heavy dustfall is over. No dust to send you, sorry.
Thank you for replay.
Thank you for reply
After the heavy thunderstorm was over here in Georgia and when the ground was finally dry I saw this off white looking powder on my lawn. I Google it and I thank you so much for your knowing. Now my kids don’t think I am crazy.
Thanks so much for this positive info on something that everyone is complaining about. It is good to know that my plants are benefiting. The summer temps keep me inside anyway, so I can avoid sun and dust, but still see my garden thrive early in the morning and late in the evening with a little water. I appreciate your post.