An evaluation of abiotic carbon sinks in deserts
- 9 July 2016
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Global Change Biology
- Vol. 23 (1) , 25-27
Abstract
Recent field studies have reported anomalous CO2 uptake using eddy‐covariance techniques in arid and semiarid ecosystems. The rates of CO2 uptake are incompatible with changes in situ of organic carbon pools. Here, I examine several potential mechanisms of abiotic CO2 uptake in arid and semiarid soils: atmospheric pressure pumping, carbonate dissolution, and percolation of soil water through the vadose zone. Each mechanism is deemed inadequate to explain the observations of the eddy‐covariance systems, which must now be questioned for their accuracy in desert ecosystems.Keywords
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