Data from: Differential pulse sensitivity of nitric and nitrous oxide emissions to temperature, carbon, and nitrogen following wetting of desert soils

Infrequent soil wetting in deserts can induce large nitrogen (N) trace gas
pulses; however, how other abiotic mechanisms interactively control the
timing and magnitude of these pulses is not clear. In particular,
production of nitric (NO) and nitrous (N2O) oxide may be differentially
dependent on temperature, carbon, and nitrogen availability. At a desert
field site in southern California, USA, we used an automated sensor system
in four years of field campaigns to track NO and N2O pulse responses to
experimental manipulations of carbon (C) and N across a range of ambient
temperatures and shrub “islands of fertility”. We observed rapid onset and
shorter duration of N2O pulses immediately after wetting compared to
lagged and extended pulses of NO, suggesting preferential incorporation of
N initially into N2O in anoxic microsites and then to NO as soils dry. We
identified strong nitrogen limitation and exponential temperature
dependence of NO pulses, particularly for soils located under shrubs. N2O
pulses were less responsive to experimental manipulations but showed
evidence of C and N co-limitation as well as seasonal temperature
differences. As atmospheric N deposition and temperatures continue to
increase in desert systems, we can expect larger losses of N from soils as
pulse-based emissions.