Soil carbon (C) is the largest terrestrial carbon pool. While inputs to this system are fairly well constrained, the diverse factors driving soil C efflux remain poorly understood. Carbon in surface soils is mobilized via two distinct pathways: CO₂ gas flux and dissolved C flux. The goal of this study was to quantify the role of hydrologic variability in mobilizing carbon as gaseous and dissolved fluxes from near-surface soils, and to determine their relative magnitudes. Data were collected through 2010 and 2011 from two subalpine sites in Arizona and New Mexico. I observed no significant variability in dissolved fluxes, and these values were low at all sites. In contrast, CO₂ fluxes were large (from 0.22 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ to 5.27 g C m⁻² d⁻¹) and varied between sites and between years. My results suggest that in arid montane forests soil carbon flux is critically linked to water availability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/238914 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Stielstra, Clare M. |
| Contributors | Brooks, Paul D., McIntosh, Jennifer C., Chorover, Jon |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Thesis |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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