The nutrient plasticity of moss-dominated crust in the urbanized Sonoran Desert

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 389; no. 1/2; pp. 225 - 235
• Main Authors: Ball, Becky A., Guevara, Jessica Alvarez
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer 01.04.2015; Springer International Publishing; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air pollution; Biogeochemical cycles; Biomedical and Life Sciences; correlation; Deserts; Ecology; Environmental aspects; Life Sciences; Mosses; mosses and liverworts; Nutrient cycles; Nutrients; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant-soil relationships; Regular Article; Resource availability; Rural areas; soil; Soil Science & Conservation; Soils; Sonoran Desert; stoichiometry; Terrestrial ecosystems; urbanization; United States; Sonoran Desert; USA, Arizona, Sonoran Desert; Terrestrial-aquatic interface; Stoichiometry; Sonoran Desert; Aboveground-belowground interactions; Desert soils; Moss
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-014-2355-7

Aims In deserts, moss-dominated crusts may play an important role in terrestrial-aquatic and aboveground-belowground connections. Despite its importance, very little is known about moss's role in biogeochemical cycles and how nutrient pulses (e.g., from N deposition in air pollution) will affect their functional significance as an integrator of nutrient cycling in deserts. Methods Moss and soil were sampled from 15 sites in the Sonoran Desert in and around Phoenix, covering the city core subject to N deposition and rural areas to the east and west. Samples were analyzed for C, N, P and micronutrient content to compare moss stoichiometry over a gradient of soil resource availability. Results Moss %N and %P were positively correlated with soil N and P. Thus, sites in the city core subject to N deposition tended to have higher soil N and therefore higher moss N than the sites outside the city core. Micronutrient content varied with sampling region but was not related to soil content. Conclusions Results suggest that moss can take up excess N,, but overall coverage of moss is lower in the city, limiting its ability to act as a N sink.