Adjustments to the N cycle in a shrub-steppe along a temperature and moisture gradient
- Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
- Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States)
Changes in temperature and moisture are likely to affect N cycling in the shrub-steppe by affecting microbially catalyzed input and loss of N to the soil. We sampled surface soil (0-5 cm) from 4 soil types (bare, cryptogamic crust, Poa spp. and Agropyron spicatum) at two locations (warm-dry or cool-moist) along a temperature/moisture gradient in a shrub-steppe in Washington state. In bare soil, cryptogamic crust and under Poa spp., total organic C and soil microbial biomass C were significantly higher at the cool-moist site than at the warm-dry site. Conversely, total Kjeldahl N was significantly higher at the warm-dry site. However, there were no significant differences between the two sites in any of these soil variables for soil collected under Agropyron spicatum. These data suggest significant differences in N cycling exist at the two sites, strongly influenced by vegetation. We hypothesize that shrub-steppe soils in hotter and drier locations fix less N{sub 2} and emit more N{sub 2}O than similar soils under cooler wetter conditions.
- OSTI ID:
- 95750
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9507129--
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 76; ISSN BECLAG; ISSN 0012-9623
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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