Precipitation and nitrogen interactions in arid ecosystems

TitlePrecipitation and nitrogen interactions in arid ecosystems
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsReichmann L, Sala O.E, Peters DC
Conference NameEcological Society of America Abstracts
Date PublishedAugust 4-8, 2008
Conference LocationMilwaukee, WI
ARIS Log Number230410
Keywordsabstract, nitrogen, terrestrail
AbstractArid and semi-arid ecosystems are among the most impoverished terrestrial systems in terms of water and nitrogen (N) availability. Productivity (NPP) is generally low, soil N pools are small and N loss through percolation is assumed to be negligible. Increased water availability can stimulate both N plant uptake (and hence NPP) and microbial N mineralization, but controls on N cycling are still poorly understood because of confounding temporal effects. We conducted an experiment with five levels of water input (-80% reduced PPT, -50% reduced, ambient PPT, +50% increased, and 80% increased PPT) and 2 levels of N fertilization in the Northern Chihuahuan desert (NM, USA) and estimated inorganic N pools, in situ net N mineralization and N leaching loss from the upper-root zone of N-NO-3 and N-NH-4.