Photo credit: Science Daily
Field experiments were conducted in a remote area near Utah’s Bear Lake where the ecosystem’s productivity is limited by both water and nitrogen availability.
Credit: Zoe Cardon
Sagebrush carrying out hydraulic lift enhances surface soil nitrogen cycling and nitrogen uptake into inflorescences
by Z. G. Cardon, J. M. Stark, P. M. Herron, J. A. Rasmussen..
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013; – DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1311314110
The vast sagebrush landscapes of the western United States are one of the largest ecosystems in North America. Long, cold winters and hot, dry summers characterize these cold desert ecosystems and create bone-dry soils during seasonal droughts. New research published this week from MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) senior scientist Zoe Cardon, John Stark (Utah State University), and their two former students, sheds light on how desert plants gain nutrients they desperately need — even in the driest circumstances.
See the text: Science Daily
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