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The large land area occupied by arid lands, roughly 36% to 40% globally, underscores the importance for understanding how these ecosystems function in the global carbon cycle. Few studies have directly examined soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and the effect of vegetation on SOC and microbial community structure in arid ecosystems. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of vegetation type on SOC dynamics in an arid, hyperthermic Sonoran Desert ecosystem. We specifically examined the influence of Prosopis velutina (mesquite), Larrea tridentata (creosote), and a combination of Bouteloua barbata, Bouteloua aristidoides, Aristida adscensionis, and Cynodon dactylon (mixed grass) vegetation types on...
We tested the effects of plant species, fertilization and elevated CO2 on water-stable soil aggregation. Five annual grassland species and a plant community were grown in outdoor mesocosms for 4 years, with and without NPK fertilization, at ambient or elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Aggregate stability (resistance of aggregates to slaking) in the top 0.15 m of soil differed among plant species. However, the more diverse plant community did not enhance aggregate stability relative to most monocultures. Species differences in aggregate stability were positively correlated with soil active bacterial biomass, but did not correlate with root biomass or fungal length. Plant species did not affect aggregate stability...