Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland
Abstract In dryland soils, spatiotemporal variation in surface soils (0–10 cm) plays an important role in the function of the “critical zone” that extends from canopy to groundwater. Understanding connections between soil microbes and biogeochemical cycling in surface soils requires repeated multiva...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Ecosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4475 |
| _version_ | 1797838688118374400 |
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| author | Anthony Darrouzet‐Nardi Isabel Siles Asaff Marguerite Mauritz Kathleen Roman Eleanor Keats Craig E. Tweedie Jennie R. McLaren |
| author_facet | Anthony Darrouzet‐Nardi Isabel Siles Asaff Marguerite Mauritz Kathleen Roman Eleanor Keats Craig E. Tweedie Jennie R. McLaren |
| author_sort | Anthony Darrouzet‐Nardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In dryland soils, spatiotemporal variation in surface soils (0–10 cm) plays an important role in the function of the “critical zone” that extends from canopy to groundwater. Understanding connections between soil microbes and biogeochemical cycling in surface soils requires repeated multivariate measurements of nutrients, microbial abundance, and microbial function. We examined these processes in resource islands and interspaces over a two‐month period at a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland site. We collected soil in Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite), Larrea tridentata (creosote bush), and unvegetated (interspace) areas to measure soil nutrient concentrations, microbial biomass, and potential soil enzyme activity. We monitored the dynamics of these belowground processes as soil conditions dried and then rewetted due to rainfall. Most measured variables, including inorganic nutrients, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activities, were greater under shrubs during both wet and dry periods, with the highest magnitudes under mesquite followed by creosote bush and then interspace. One exception was nitrate, which was highly variable and did not show resource island patterns. Temporally, rainfall pulses were associated with substantial changes in soil nutrient concentrations, though resource island patterns remained consistent during all phases of the soil moisture pulse. Microbial biomass was more consistent than nutrients, decreasing only when soils were driest. Potential enzyme activities were even more consistent and did not decline in dry periods, potentially helping to stimulate observed pulses in CO2 efflux following rain events observed at a co‐located eddy flux tower. These results indicate a critical zone with organic matter cycling patterns consistently elevated in shrub resource islands (which varied by shrub species), high decomposition potential that limits soil organic matter accumulation across the landscape, and nitrate fluxes that are decoupled from the organic matter pathways. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:45:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1bbf1ab99a5b4ddbb0a66410c314af34 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-8925 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:45:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-1bbf1ab99a5b4ddbb0a66410c314af342023-04-27T00:50:33ZengWileyEcosphere2150-89252023-04-01144n/an/a10.1002/ecs2.4475Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrublandAnthony Darrouzet‐Nardi0Isabel Siles Asaff1Marguerite Mauritz2Kathleen Roman3Eleanor Keats4Craig E. Tweedie5Jennie R. McLaren6Department of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USADepartment of Biological Sciences University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave. El Paso Texas 79902 USAAbstract In dryland soils, spatiotemporal variation in surface soils (0–10 cm) plays an important role in the function of the “critical zone” that extends from canopy to groundwater. Understanding connections between soil microbes and biogeochemical cycling in surface soils requires repeated multivariate measurements of nutrients, microbial abundance, and microbial function. We examined these processes in resource islands and interspaces over a two‐month period at a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland site. We collected soil in Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite), Larrea tridentata (creosote bush), and unvegetated (interspace) areas to measure soil nutrient concentrations, microbial biomass, and potential soil enzyme activity. We monitored the dynamics of these belowground processes as soil conditions dried and then rewetted due to rainfall. Most measured variables, including inorganic nutrients, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activities, were greater under shrubs during both wet and dry periods, with the highest magnitudes under mesquite followed by creosote bush and then interspace. One exception was nitrate, which was highly variable and did not show resource island patterns. Temporally, rainfall pulses were associated with substantial changes in soil nutrient concentrations, though resource island patterns remained consistent during all phases of the soil moisture pulse. Microbial biomass was more consistent than nutrients, decreasing only when soils were driest. Potential enzyme activities were even more consistent and did not decline in dry periods, potentially helping to stimulate observed pulses in CO2 efflux following rain events observed at a co‐located eddy flux tower. These results indicate a critical zone with organic matter cycling patterns consistently elevated in shrub resource islands (which varied by shrub species), high decomposition potential that limits soil organic matter accumulation across the landscape, and nitrate fluxes that are decoupled from the organic matter pathways.https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4475biogeochemistryCritical Zone Collaborative Networkdryland critical zoneJornada Experimental Rangerangelandsemiarid |
| spellingShingle | Anthony Darrouzet‐Nardi Isabel Siles Asaff Marguerite Mauritz Kathleen Roman Eleanor Keats Craig E. Tweedie Jennie R. McLaren Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland Ecosphere biogeochemistry Critical Zone Collaborative Network dryland critical zone Jornada Experimental Range rangeland semiarid |
| title | Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland |
| title_full | Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland |
| title_fullStr | Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland |
| title_short | Consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a Chihuahuan Desert bajada shrubland |
| title_sort | consistent microbial and nutrient resource island patterns during monsoon rain in a chihuahuan desert bajada shrubland |
| topic | biogeochemistry Critical Zone Collaborative Network dryland critical zone Jornada Experimental Range rangeland semiarid |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4475 |
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