Soil organic matter content in the cold desert of the Canyonlands physiographic section of the Colorado Plateau is low and poorly studied. In this environment there is a strong temporal offset between soil temperature and moisture. Because of this temporal offset between soil temperature and moisture, turnover of soil organic matter is regulated on the basis of thresholds. When soil moisture is above 9.5% and temperature is below 15.7�C, turnover of soil organic matter is high but when soil temperature is above 15.7�C moisture is limiting and turnover is slow. This threshold based regulation of soil organic matter turnover is different from what occurs in other ecosystems where soil temperature and moisture continuously interact to [...]