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Global warming threatens desert life Jeremy Hance mongabay.com November 09, 2009 A new study in Science found that as deserts become hotter their soil releases nitrogen, a gas vital for life. Losses of nitrogen in these arid environments, scientists believe, will result in a loss of plant life, since nitrogen is second only to water in determining the amount of life in a desert. "We're on a trajectory where plant life in arid ecosystems could cease to do well," says lead author Carmody McCalley, a graduate student at Cornell University. If plant life diminishes then animals and insects dependent on them for survival will also be negtaively impacted. Using instruments sensitive enough to measure level of nitrogen in parts per trillion, the researchers discovered that abiotic (non-biological) factors played a bigger role in nitrogen loss than biological—where past researchers have placed their focus. "At 40 to 50 degrees Celsius [about 100-120 F], we found rapid increases in gases coming out of the soil" regardless of the light, McCalley said. Midday ground temperatures average about 150 Farenheit and can reach almost 200 Farenheir in the Mojave Desert. "This is a way that nitrogen is lost from an ecosystem that people have never accounted for before," said Jed Sparks, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell and co-author of the study. "It allows us to finally understand the dynamics of nitrogen in arid systems" The discovery that hotter temperatures lead to nitrogen loss requires changes in climate models, according to the researchers. Nitrogen in the lower atmosphere adds to air pollution and the greenhouse effect. Citation: Carmody K. McCalley, Jed P. Sparks. Abiotic Gas Formation Drives Nitrogen Loss from a Desert Ecosystem. Science. Vol. 326. no. 5954, pp. 837 - 840. DOI: 10.1126/science.1178984. Related articles Cost of climate change adaptation to be 2-3 times higher than current estimates (08/27/2009) The cost of adapting to climate change will be significantly higher than estimated by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) warns a new report published by the International Institute for Environment and Development and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London. Loss of Great Barrier Reef due to global warming would cost Australia $37.7 billion (08/12/2009) A recent study reports that the loss of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef due to climate change poses a catastrophe not just for marine life, but would cost $37.7 billion during the next century. Mirrors in the desert may fight global warming (12/23/2008) Heat reflecting sheets in arid regions could cool climate by increasing Earth's reflectivity or albedo, argue scientists writing in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues. SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
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