Increasing aridity, temperature and soil pH induce soil C-N-P imbalance in grasslands.

ABSTRACT: Due to the different degrees of controls exerted by biological and geochemical processes, climate changes are suggested to uncouple biogeochemical C, N and P cycles, influencing biomass accumulation, decomposition and storage in terrestrial ecosystems. However, the possible extent of such disruption in grassland ecosystems remains unclear, especially in China's steppes which have undergone rapid climate changes with increasing drought and warming predicted moving forward in these dryland ecosystems. Here, we assess how soil C-N-P stoichiometry is affected by climatic change along a 3500-km temperate climate transect in Inner Mongolia, China. Our results reveal that the soil from more arid and warmer sites are associated with lower soil organic C, total N and P. The ratios of both soil C:P

SUBMITTER: Jiao F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4726211 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature