Nitric oxide emission from arid grassland and shrubland ecosystems in southern New Mexico

Conference · Tue Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 1993 · Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States)

OSTI ID:5985993

Hartley, A E; Schlesinger, W H ^[1]

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1. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)

Soil nitrogen losses are characteristic of the transition from semi-arid grassland to arid shrubland in the southwestern United States. Nitrogen gas emission from soil microbial activity contributes to the long-term reduction of soil fertility associated with desertification. We investigated nitric Oxide (NO) emission from arid soils in the Jornada Experimental Range, near Las Cruces, New Mexico. During the dry season, mean NO fluxes from coarse-textured soils in a Boutelcua grassland and a Larrea shrubland were similar (0.12 and 0.15 ng NO-N cm[sup [minus]2] hr[sup [minus]1], respectively), and higher than flexes from fine-textured soils in a Flourensia shrubland (0.02 ng NO-N cm[sup [minus]2] hr[sup [minus]1]). In a wetting experiment, mean NO fluxes were higher under shrub canopies of Larrea and Flourensia, reflecting the accumulation of soil organic matter under shrubs in islands of fertility. In the Larrea shrubland, mean NO fluxes were ten times higher under shrubs than between shrubs (12.9 vs. 1.29 ng NO-N cm[sup [minus]2] hr[sup [minus]1]).

• OSTI ID: 5985993
• Report Number(s): CONF-930798-; CODEN: BECLAG
• Journal Information: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States), Vol. 74:2; Conference: 78. annual Ecological Society of America (ESA) meeting, Madison, WI (United States), 31 Jul - 4 Aug 1993; ISSN 0012-9623
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ARID LANDS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
NITRIC OXIDE
BIOSYNTHESIS
EMISSION
SOIL CHEMISTRY
MICROORGANISMS
NEW MEXICO
ORGANIC MATTER
RANGELANDS
SHRUBS
SOILS
USA
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMISTRY
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECOSYSTEMS
MATTER
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
SYNTHESIS
540100* - Environment
Atmospheric- (1990-)
540120 - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)