We invite you to submit proposals to a session at the AGU Fall Meeting: "B045: Life at the top: How carbon cycles at the surface of drylands"
https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/prelim.cgi/Session/50162 Session abstract: Although drylands cover roughly 40% of Earth’s land surface, we still lack a thorough understanding of the controls over carbon cycling in these systems, and this is particularly true for dryland soils. Unlike mesic systems, carbon cycling in drylands has numerous structures and properties that result in extremely localized exchanges of carbon between the most surficial litter and soil layers and the atmosphere. This session will focus on the controls and implications of carbon cycling above, at, and just below the soil surface in drylands. Topics may include, among other things, soil-litter mixing, the mantle of fertility concept, photodegradation, linkages with other nutrient cycles (N, Na, P, etc.), the role of different moisture regimes (including non-rainfall moisture), biocrust-mediated exchanges, carbon emissions from drylands, and the sensitivity of these processes to climate and land-use change. We invite studies using experimental, observational, and modeling approaches. Conveners: Robert Logan (Michigan State University) Sasha Reed (USGS) Colin Tucker (USGS) Sarah Evans (Michigan State University)
