Soil respiration in a chihuahuan desert rangeland

Soil respiration of a desert soil was measured at the New Mexico State University Ranch in Southern New Mexico. Respiration rates were highest during late July and August after summer rains. Soil respiration data were used to estimate soil organic matter turnover which was 54 yr using summer data and 20 yr using both summer and winter data. The long turnover estimate for summer measurements resulted from temperatures above optimum in June and July. Diurnal soil respiration was also measured after a simulated 2.54 cm rain event. For both wetted and dry soils, temperature controlled the patterns of soil respiration with an optimum of near 41°C. Activation energy values decreased from 84.91 to 39.5 kJ mol^-1 when the soil was wetted. A light-dark container method was tested as a possible means of estimating algal uptake of CO₂, however, the method was not feasible for desert soils.