Rainfall pulse regime drives biomass and community composition in biological soil crusts

Fernandes, Vanessa Moreira Câmara; Rudgers, Jennifer A.; Collins, Scott L.; García-Pichel, Ferrán

doi:10.1002/ecy.3744

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Low atmospheric deposition rates (Báez et al., 2007) combined with the low abundance of nitrogen fixers in biological soil crusts (Fernandes et al., 2018, 2022) suggest decomposition of SOM is the primary source of inorganic nitrogen in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. However, we did not find SOM to be a driver of either plant available nitrogen or nitrogen‐acquiring microbial ecoenzymatic activities, nor did we find significant changes in SOM content over the growing season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since results from laboratory assays are indicative of overall enzyme concentrations and not actual rates of in situ activities, they may not accurately reflect what happens under field conditions (Henry, 2012). Low atmospheric deposition rates (Báez et al, 2007) combined with the low abundance of nitrogen fixers in biological soil crusts (Fernandes et al, 2018(Fernandes et al, , 2022 suggest decomposition of SOM is the primary source of inorganic nitrogen in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. However, we did not find SOM to be a driver of either plant available nitrogen or nitrogen-acquiring microbial ecoenzymatic activities, nor did we find significant changes in SOM content over the growing season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Temporal Effects of Monsoon Rainfall Pulses on Plant Available Nitrogen in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

et al. 2022

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Drylands are often characterized by a pulse dynamics framework in which episodic rain events trigger brief pulses of biological activity and resource availability that regulate primary production. In the northern Chihuahuan Desert, growing season precipitation typically comes from monsoon rainstorms that stimulate soil microbial processes like decomposition, releasing inorganic nitrogen needed by plant processes. Compared to microbes, plants require greater amounts of soil moisture, typically from larger monsoon storms predicted to become less frequent and more intense in the future. Yet field‐based studies linking rainfall pulses with soil nutrient dynamics are rare. Consequently, little is known about how changes in rainfall patterns may affect plant available nitrogen in dryland soils, particularly across temporal scales. We measured daily and seasonal responses of soil inorganic nitrogen and related parameters to experimentally applied small frequent and large infrequent rain events throughout a summer growing season in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland. Contrary to long‐standing theories around resource pulse dynamics in drylands, nitrogen availability did not pulse following experimental rain events. Moreover, large infrequent events resulted in significantly less plant available nitrogen despite causing distinct pulses of increased soil moisture availability that persisted for several days. Overall, nitrogen availability increased over the growing season, especially following small frequent rain events that also stimulated some microbial ecoenzymatic activities. Our results suggest that projected changes in climate to fewer, larger rain events could significantly impact primary production in desert grasslands by decreasing plant available nitrogen when soil moisture is least limiting to plant growth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Effects of Monsoon Rainfall Pulses on Plant Available Nitrogen in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

et al. 2022

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“…In grassland ecosystem, biological nitrogen xation and nitrogen entering soil with precipitation are the two main sources of soil nitrogen. Soil moisture caused by high precipitation is conducive to nitrogen xation (Fernandes et al, 2022). The effect of temperature on total nitrogen content was also signi cant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Spatio-temporal Simulation and Statistical Analysis of Soil Total Nitrogen in Alpine Meadow of Gannan

张,

Zhang,

Jia

2023

Preprint

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To determine the temporal and spatial characteristics of soil nitrogen in the alpine meadow of Gannan, China, the contents of soil organic nitrogen, mineral nitrogen and soil total nitrogen in Gannan alpine meadow from 1971 to 2020 were simulated based on the localized CENTURY model, on this basis, the spatial and temporal distribution of soil nitrogen of the study area was visualized. The influence of various environmental factors on soil nitrogen in the alpine meadow of Gannan was analyzed. The results show that from 1971 to 2020, the soil organic nitrogen in the study area has moderate spatial variability. Active soil organic nitrogen pool and chronic soil organic nitrogen pool accounted for 11.2% and 39.8% of total soil organic nitrogen, respectively. The inert soil organic nitrogen pool accounts for 49.0% of the total organic nitrogen in the soil. In spatial distribution, the total organic nitrogen and total mineral nitrogen in the alpine meadow of Gannan showed a decreasing trend from west to east, and the total mineral nitrogen content in the soil decreased significantly with the increase of soil depth. Correlation analysis of soil nitrogen and environmental factors and structural equation model showed that precipitation, elevation, soil organic matter content and silt content had positive correlation with soil organic nitrogen and mineral nitrogen contents. The effects of sand content and temperature on soil organic nitrogen and mineral nitrogen contents were negatively correlated.

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“…Atmospheric nitrogen deposition occurs primarily through wet deposition at a rate of 0.2 g m −2 year −1 , with 57% deposited as NH 4 and 43% deposited as NO 3 (Báez et al, 2007). Low deposition rates combined with a low abundance of nitrogen fixers in biological soil crusts (Fernandes et al, 2018, 2022) contribute to nutrient‐poor soils throughout the region (Brown et al, 2022; Zak et al, 1994).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Low deposition rates combined with a low abundance of nitrogen fixers in biological soil crusts (Fernandes et al, 2018(Fernandes et al, , 2022 contribute to nutrient-poor soils throughout the region Zak et al, 1994). Well station was 233 ± 9.6 mm, with approximately 51% falling between July and September from localized convective storms driven by the North American Monsoon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

As above, not so below: Long‐term dynamics of net primary production across a dryland transition zone

Brown

Collins

2023

Global Change Biology

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Drylands are key contributors to interannual variation in the terrestrial carbon sink, which has been attributed primarily to broad‐scale climatic anomalies that disproportionately affect net primary production (NPP) in these ecosystems. Current knowledge around the patterns and controls of NPP is based largely on measurements of aboveground net primary production (ANPP), particularly in the context of altered precipitation regimes. Limited evidence suggests belowground net primary production (BNPP), a major input to the terrestrial carbon pool, may respond differently than ANPP to precipitation, as well as other drivers of environmental change, such as nitrogen deposition and fire. Yet long‐term measurements of BNPP are rare, contributing to uncertainty in carbon cycle assessments. Here, we used 16 years of annual NPP measurements to investigate responses of ANPP and BNPP to several environmental change drivers across a grassland–shrubland transition zone in the northern Chihuahuan Desert. ANPP was positively correlated with annual precipitation across this landscape; however, this relationship was weaker within sites. BNPP, on the other hand, was weakly correlated with precipitation only in Chihuahuan Desert shrubland. Although NPP generally exhibited similar trends among sites, temporal correlations between ANPP and BNPP within sites were weak. We found chronic nitrogen enrichment stimulated ANPP, whereas a one‐time prescribed burn reduced ANPP for nearly a decade. Surprisingly, BNPP was largely unaffected by these factors. Together, our results suggest that BNPP is driven by a different set of controls than ANPP. Furthermore, our findings imply belowground production cannot be inferred from aboveground measurements in dryland ecosystems. Improving understanding around the patterns and controls of dryland NPP at interannual to decadal scales is fundamentally important because of their measurable impact on the global carbon cycle. This study underscores the need for more long‐term measurements of BNPP to improve assessments of the terrestrial carbon sink, particularly in the context of ongoing environmental change.

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Rainfall pulse regime drives biomass and community composition in biological soil crusts

Cited by 12 publications

References 78 publications

Temporal Effects of Monsoon Rainfall Pulses on Plant Available Nitrogen in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

Temporal Effects of Monsoon Rainfall Pulses on Plant Available Nitrogen in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland

Spatio-temporal Simulation and Statistical Analysis of Soil Total Nitrogen in Alpine Meadow of Gannan

As above, not so below: Long‐term dynamics of net primary production across a dryland transition zone

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