Nature Communications (Nov 2017)

Shifts in pore connectivity from precipitation versus groundwater rewetting increases soil carbon loss after drought

  • A. Peyton Smith,
  • Ben Bond-Lamberty,
  • Brian W. Benscoter,
  • Malak M. Tfaily,
  • C. Ross Hinkle,
  • Chongxuan Liu,
  • Vanessa L. Bailey

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01320-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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The impacts of top down (precipitation) and bottom-up (groundwater rise) wetting processes on carbon sequestration are poorly understood. Here, the authors use incubation experiments to show that drought legacy and pore-scale wetting patterns are important factors controlling short-term carbon dynamics.