Patterns of longer-term climate change effects on CO<sub>2</sub> efflux from biocrusted soils differ from those observed in the short-term

Abstract

Abstract. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are predicted to be sensitive to the increased 10 temperature and altered precipitation associated with climate change. We assessed the effects of 11 these factors on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) balance in biocrusted soils using a sequence of 12 manipulations over a nine-year period. We warmed biocrusted soils by 2 and, later, by 4 °C to